BA delay Delhi flight. Crew fatigue
In a midnight ordeal lasting more than 12 hours for 225 passengers for London, a British Airways flight failed to take off from here when its pilot expressed his inability to fly complaining he did not have proper sleep.
Flight BA 143 was scheduled to leave Delhi at 2.30 am this morning but did not take off after the pilot, Captain William, said he would not fly as he had not had enough sleep, airport sources said.
The pilot said he could not sleep as there was some disturbance in his hotel, the sources said.
All the passengers, who had boarded the flight, were offloaded, leaving many of them fuming.
The airline could not make alternative arrangements for the passengers and the flight was delayed till 3.20 pm today when it took off for London.
British Airways spokeswoman Radhika Raikhy said "the crew hadn't had enough rest. The safety regulations of British Airways doesn't allow them to operate in such conditions.
"The entire crew had a disturbed night," she said.
British Airways apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers, saying their safety was "paramount" and could not be "compromised".
Sunil Thapar, a traveller on the delayed flight, said most passengers felt British Airways was negligent in its handling of the matter.
"There were hundreds of people going back but they basically asked them to board some buses and just left us to our devices," he said.