Pretty hard to know what really happened here but I have being at the passenger end of similar situations several times.
The vast majority of passengers are not going to quibble with a regulation or a safety issue if it is clearly explained and a course of action with a time frame is offered.
People get worked up when the airline treats them as mushrooms (SLF), kept in the dark and feed sh*it.
There is a lot of emphasis in flying on collecting information, making a decision, evaluating the result and moving on.
Airlines seem to be incapable of doing the same on the ground. No one has clear authority. The check in people usually are the worst informed, (willfully by their employers). Many a time I’ve stood at a gate, no plane in sight with a board announcing we are leaving in 10 minutes!!!!
If the crew was tired and not ready to go, it is a legal issue and that is that. There is no reason that a plan cannot be developed from there. I’d suspect BA does not keep back up crew in Delhi so right away the time frame for a new crew has a minimum dimension.
Makes me wonder what these so called station managers do.
20driver