Pune: More than 100 passengers were left stranded for nearly five hours without any food or beverages on Thursday evening after a Delhi-Pune SpiceJet flight was delayed following multiple reschedulings.Anand Dubey, who was travelling with his wife, told TOI the flight was originally scheduled to depart Delhi at 4.55pm. “I reached the airport and checked in around 1pm. At about 3.20pm, I received the first notification about the delay. Then the departure time kept getting pushed back via multiple messages, but without any proper explanation,” he said. Boarding finally began at 9.40pm, with the aircraft taking off at 10pm and landing in Pune at 12.10am on Friday, he said.Dubey alleged that despite the prolonged delay, the airline refused to provide refreshments. “When I asked for some food or refreshments, they denied the request. The staff cited bad weather as the reason for the delay, but I could see other flights taking off normally. DGCA guidelines clearly mention that passengers should be provided refreshments during such delays, but the airline paid no heed,” he said.He said while the airline offered passengers a full refund if they wished to cancel, “We had to reach Pune, so cancelling the journey wasn’t an option. Staff in Pune said they would provide vouchers, but we never received any. Had I known about the airline’s history of delays, I would not have booked this flight.”Another passenger, requesting anonymity, said he missed an important event because of the delay. “I was supposed to reach Pune by 7.25pm and then attend a close friend’s wedding anniversary. The delay ruined my plans,” he said.The businessman also expressed frustration over recurring delays involving the airline. “Despite repeated delays of SpiceJet flights, there seems to be no action taken by DGCA or the ministry of civil aviation. Passengers continue to suffer while nobody is held accountable,” he said.A SpiceJet spokesperson said operational issues resulted in the delay. “SpiceJet flight SG-939, scheduled to operate from Delhi to Pune was delayed due to a last-minute operational issue. SpiceJet deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers,” the spokesperson said.The latest disruption comes within days of a Pune-Delhi SpiceJet flight being delayed by around three hours. Passengers had alleged then too that they had not been provided refreshments. Among them was Maharashtra state Congress committee general secretary Amir Shaikh, who has written a letter (with TOI) to KC Venugopal, chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture, seeking a detailed inquiry into the repeated delays and urging stricter enforcement of passenger rights and minimum service standards for airlines.
