Passengers stranded as Air India flight delayed

After the recent debacle with delays in the Air India flight and hundreds of passengers stranded at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the airline is in trouble again due to repeated delays with passengers including Haj pilgrims who had to put up at the airport for a day.
The long-haul Air India flight was scheduled to arrive in Jeddah from Calicut on Sunday evening and leave for Hyderabad on Monday night on its onward journey to Mumbai. However, a technical snag led to its being postponed to Tuesday leaving the passengers stranded at the airport.
“I was supposed to travel to Bhobal from Mumbai but now because of this delay, my whole schedule is messed up. My family has come from Indore to Bhopal to receive me and they are now waiting for my arrival,” said a frustrated passenger, Mohammed Liaqat Ali.
A woman pilgrim said that she was to catch a domestic flight to Kolkatta from Mumbai but now she wouldn’t be able to. Her complaint resonated with several pilgrims from Ahmedabad, New Delhi and other Indian cities.
“We just want to return home as soon as possible,” said Mohammed Fazil who finally boarded the flight on Tuesday. “Why are only Air India flights being affected?” he asked.
Passengers who were scheduled to fly to Calicut on Sunday night were also only able to travel on Monday night, delayed by almost 24 hours, sources said. They added that most of the home-bound passengers are Haj pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Air India manager Feroz Khan said that flights were rescheduled for the Calicut and Hyderabad sectors due to some technical problems but that the passengers were kept informed about the flight delays and were lodged at hotels.