During a severe heatwave, passengers on a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Darbhanga in Bihar endured over an hour inside the aircraft without air-conditioning.
Viral videos show passengers fanning themselves with whatever they could find, including brochures, magazines, and handkerchiefs, while wiping sweat from their faces. Several passengers reportedly felt unwell due to the prolonged exposure to the heat.
SpiceJet stated that flight SG 476 departed Delhi airport at 11 am “without any delays,” and the air-conditioning functioned normally during the flight and on its return to Delhi.
However, the airline acknowledged issues with the AC during boarding, attributing it to “extreme weather conditions” and the open aircraft doors, as boarding was not via an aerobridge. “The doors were promptly closed after boarding completion, and the cooling functioned normally thereafter,” an airline spokesperson said.
अच्छे दिनों की शुरुआत हो गई है क्या??
एक तो भीषण गर्मी ऊपर से AC ख़राब, दिल्ली से दरभंगा जा रही SpiceJet की फ्लाइट संख्या (SG 486) में AC नहीं चलने के कारण यात्रियों का हाल बेहाल हो गया।विमान के अंंदर कोई रुमाल तो कोई मैगजीन की मदद से गर्मी से निजात पाने की कोशिश करता नज़र… pic.twitter.com/L3E6WYsS6r
— suman (@suman_pakad) June 19, 2024
Rohan Kumar, a passenger, said the AC was only activated after takeoff. “At the Delhi airport, after check-in, they did not switch on the air-conditioning for an hour. The temperature inside the flight was at least 40 degrees. The passengers were suffering. The AC was switched on when the flight took off,” he reported.
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This incident follows another heat-related delay on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Bagdogra in Bengal, which was delayed by three hours due to severe heat causing a technical snag.
Soaring temperatures in the national capital and other parts of northern India have heightened the risk of heat strokes. At least seven people have died in the last two days, and 12 are on life support at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital due to the heatwave.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that the heat index, or “feels-like” temperature in Delhi, reached 50 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, with a minimum recorded temperature of 33.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.
