Air India is set to conduct a special flight from Milan to Delhi on Sunday to repatriate passengers who were left stranded in Milan after their flight was canceled due to a technical issue with the Dreamliner aircraft. Following the flight cancellation on Friday, over 250 passengers found themselves stuck in Milan, sparking complaints on social media regarding the lack of adequate facilities.
In response, Air India announced its plan to operate a flight from Milan to Delhi today specifically for the affected passengers of flight AI138, which was grounded on October 17 due to technical reasons. The airline emphasized its commitment to ensuring the timely return of affected passengers to India for the upcoming festive season. Air India stated that they expedited the necessary aircraft rectification process in Milan and obtained approvals to run an additional commercial flight, AI138D, departing from Milan at 1900 hours local time and arriving in Delhi on the morning of October 20.
Moreover, Air India’s teams are actively contacting the affected passengers, who had been previously rescheduled on other flights with post-Diwali arrivals, offering them the choice to stick with their current bookings or switch to the supplementary flight operating today. Concerns have been raised about the passengers missing Diwali celebrations in India due to the Friday flight cancellation. The disrupted flight, AI138, was originally designated to be serviced by a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, commonly known as Dreamliner.
In a statement addressing the Milan flight cancellation issued on Saturday, Air India indicated that passengers have been rebooked on alternative flights scheduled on or after October 20, subject to seat availability with Air India and partner airlines. Notably, Air India highlighted a specific case where a passenger, with a Schengen visa expiring on October 20, was rebooked on another airline’s flight departing Milan on October 19 to ensure compliance with visa requirements.
The airline’s efforts aim to mitigate the inconvenience caused to the affected passengers due to the unexpected flight disruptions.