Air India cancels scheduled flight for Indian cricket team charter
Air India cancelled a scheduled flight from the US to India and used the Boeing 777 plane for running a charter to ferry the Indian cricket team back home from Barbados, prompting the civil aviation regulator to seek a response from the Tata Group-owned airline, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
A special Air India flight, chartered by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is carrying the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team and support staff from Barbados in the Caribbean to Delhi.
The flight took off from Grantley Adams International airport in Bridgetown on Wednesday and was scheduled to land in New Delhi on Thursday at around 6 AM.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules stipulate that an airline should not disrupt scheduled flights while operating a charter. Air India had cancelled its flight AI 106, scheduled to operate the Newark-Delhi flight on July 2, according to people cited above.
DGCA seeks report from Air India related to chartered Barbados flight
A senior DGCA official said the regulator has asked Air India to clarify the steps taken to accommodate the stranded passengers. A carrier requires prior permission from DGCA for operating charter flights.
The people said DGCA had given special dispensation to the Air India plane crew to operate beyond their scheduled duty hours. The regulator allowed this on condition that no passengers would be inconvenienced, they said.
A spokesperson for Air India didn’t respond to ET’s queries.
A person
