Passengers on Saturday were subjected to an uncomfortable journey on an IndiGo flight from Chandigarh to Jaipur due to the failure of the aircraft's air conditioning system. The incident was brought to light by Punjab Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who shared his "one of the most horrifying experiences" while traveling from Chandigarh to Jaipur on an IndiGo aircraft - 6E7261.
Passengers on the flight endured a harrowing 90-minute ordeal since they were forced to sit inside the plane without air conditioning, he wrote on social media.
“Right from the take-off to landing, the ACs were off and all the passengers were made to 'suffer' throughout the journey. No one addressed the serious concern during the flight. In fact, the air hostess ‘generously’ distributed tissue papers to the passengers to wipe off their sweat,” he tweeted.
The ordeal began with passengers waiting for about 10-15 minutes in scorching heat before boarding the flight. Once onboard, they discovered that the air conditioning was not functioning.
Despite the discomfort, the flight took off and continued its journey without any cooling system. Throughout the flight, passengers were forced to endure the heat, with no resolution or acknowledgment of the issue from the airline. In an attempt to alleviate the discomfort, air hostesses distributed tissue papers to passengers to wipe off their sweat.
This incident was one of three technical snags reported on IndiGo flights that day. Another flight heading to Delhi had to make an emergency landing at Patna airport due to an engine malfunction, while a Ranchi-bound IndiGo flight returned to Delhi airport within an hour after takeoff due to a technical glitch.
Warring criticized the airline for its "poor service" and lack of response to the situation. He urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to take strict action against the airline to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Air conditioning is crucial in aircraft as it is used to pressurize, heat, cool, and ventilate the cabin. If the air conditioning packs fail, the cabin can become too hot or too cold for passenger comfort.