DGCA Asks for Explanation After AI Cancels Newark-Delhi Flight

The T20 World Cup-winning Indian team finally arrived in New Delhi on an Air India (AI) chartered flight today after being stranded in the Caribbean islands for the past three days due to Hurricane Beryl. However, there is a catch.

AI cancelled its scheduled Newark-Delhi flight on Tuesday and converted it to a chartered flight to ferry the Indian cricket team at the request of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The special Air India flight AIC24WC (Air India Champions 24 World Cup) took off around 4:50 AM local time from the Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown and landed in New Delhi today at 6:20 AM IST.

DGCA Demands Explanation

A senior regulatory official told Business Standard that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked AI to submit a "factual report" on the incident. As per DGCA rules issued in December 2017, a carrier can operate a non-scheduled international flight only if it does not affect its scheduled flight operations. “For the operation of charter flights by scheduled operators, there shall be no disruption to their scheduled flights,” the rules stated. The DGCA has not issued a formal notice to the airline but has asked it to explain the incident via email. The AI executive said a reply will soon be sent to the regulator.

The AI executive said all passengers of the Newark-Delhi flight were accommodated on other flights of the airline and its partner airlines. "No passenger of the Newark-Delhi flight is stranded in the US due to this cancellation," the executive said.

On Tuesday, the aircraft operated its scheduled Delhi-Newark leg and landed at the Newark airport at 8:45 am (local time). However, the next leg, Newark-Delhi, was cancelled, and the plane was sent to Argyle airport in Kingstown to pick up the Indian cricket team.