Alliance Air pilot denies flying, says ‘duty hours up’; Jaipur-Delhi passengers forced to take bus

Forty passengers of Jaipur-Delhi flight of Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, had horrific time after the pilot refused to fly the plane stating his duty hours were over.

According to a Jaipur International Airport officials the passengers were taken to Delhi by road while others were sent in another flight on Friday morning.

JS Balhara, director of Sanganer Airport, said “A pilot cannot exceed duty hours. The Alliance Air pilot’s duty time got over and therefore, he could not take the flight.”

The airport director giving reference of Directorate of General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines said, “A pilot cannot fly after he exceed duty hours for safety reasons.”

According to a staff of Air India, “The pilot and crew of the flight coming from Delhi was scheduled to take the flight (9I-644) from Jaipur to Delhi last night. But, the flight from Delhi got delayed and landed at Jaipur around 1.30 am."

(With PTI inputs)