logo
'Hope rest of the aircraft is working': Former NITI Aayog member fumes over broken business class seats on Air India Mumbai-Delhi flight

'Hope rest of the aircraft is working': Former NITI Aayog member fumes over broken business class seats on Air India Mumbai-Delhi flight

Time of India28-04-2025
NEW DELHI:
Urvashi Prasad
, a prominent public health advocate and former
NITI Aayog
official, has raised serious concerns about
aircraft maintenance
after finding broken seats in the business class of an
Air India
Mumbai-Delhi flight on Sunday.
Urvashi, a former lateral entrant to NITI Aayog who also served on the Government of India's
Covid Management Core Team
, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share her experience aboard
flight AI2996
.
You Can Also Check:
Mumbai AQI
|
Weather in Mumbai
|
Bank Holidays in Mumbai
|
Public Holidays in Mumbai
Prasad, who is also a Stage 4 cancer survivor, highlighted the poor condition of her seat on what was reportedly a
Vistara
aircraft operated under the Air India banner.
'Broken seats in business class in @airindia flight AI2996 Bombay to Delhi... can only hope the rest of the plane is working,' she wrote, posting a photos of the damaged seat.
Air India's customer support responded online, assuring her that her feedback would be addressed. However, Prasad pushed back on the response, noting that the issue goes beyond a surface-level fix.
'It's not just about addressing through quick fixes like tape, which is what was done eventually. Your aircrafts shouldn't be falling apart like this,' she wrote in a follow-up post.
In a subsequent tweet, she clarified that the aircraft in question was a Vistara plane. 'This is about bare minimum maintenance being done at least,' she added.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Dreamliners' Nightmares Are Increasing In Frequency
The Dreamliners' Nightmares Are Increasing In Frequency

News18

time5 hours ago

  • News18

The Dreamliners' Nightmares Are Increasing In Frequency

Last Updated: The recent spate of glitches in Boeing 787s of several other airlines indicates that the AI-171 crash was just waiting to happen Even after a LatAm Airlines' Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner en route to Santiago in Chile circled over the Pacific for an hour on August 1 before returning to Los Angeles Airport to make an emergency landing due to engine failure, will Boeing and its proxies still blame Indian pilots for the crash of AI 171 in Ahmedabad in June? Flight trackers and video evidence note that when it landed, its Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was clearly deployed—as AI-171's last visual showed too. Just the day before, on July 31, a London-bound Air India Dreamliner flight from Delhi aborted take-off on Thursday after 'technical issues' were detected. The Boeing 787-900 aircraft returned to the parking bay and Air India said it was conducting 'precautionary checks". Such 'precaution" is understandable but given the rising public unease over incidents involving Dreamliners, transparency about these incidents, wherever they happen, must become standard practice. Due to the AI-171 crash and the orchestrated blame game by 787's components suppliers and manufacturer, most Indians know now that the RAT emerges when power fails, and fuel supply cut-off is one of several possible causes. Electrical failure resulting in loss of power to flight control, navigation and other systems can also cause the RAT to deploy. And if this latest RAT deployment on the LatAm flight is not probed transparently the public will, well, smell a rat. Intriguingly, in December 2018, a LatAm Boeing 777-300 on its way from Sao Paulo to London Heathrow had to make an emergency landing at Belo Horizonte. At that time too, the RAT was deployed and 12 of its 14 tyres burst due to its heavy weight as it had been unable to dump fuel. Passengers said there had been a strong smell of burning electricals before the cabin lights and entertainment systems went out. The crew said all navigation equipment had failed too. The testimony of the lone miraculous survivor of the Ahmedabad Dreamliner disaster had also reported that there was a loud bang and a high pitched whine (which was deduced to be the sound the RAT deploying) and the cabin lights had flickered just before the aircraft crashed. Unless he gets sudden amnesia or mysteriously retracts the statements he made to multiple news networks, Boeing cannot swat away the similarities between the 777 and 778 electrical issues. Even before this latest LatAm Dreamliner nightmare, a United Airlines 787-800 bound for Munich returned soon after take-off from Washington Dulles Airport on July 25. Its left engine failed, and the pilots issued a Mayday call, flew in a holding pattern and then landed back at the airport. It was considerably higher in the air than AI-171 when this happened and thus could recoup and land safely. But as the engines were inert, the plane had to be towed off the runway. Not many in India (or indeed anyone apart from aviation watchers) know that in March 2024 Boeing had told airlines with Dreamliners to check pilots' seats as part of a probe into another (!) Latam flight wherein 50 people were hurt when it plunged suddenly in mid-air. Media reported that a cabin crew had 'accidentally" pressed a switch on the seat, pushing the pilot into the control panels, causing the plane's nose to go downwards. But was that the real reason for the fall? Is it a coincidence that among the first of many wildly speculative statements by (mostly) American aviation experts was the allegation that the seat of one the AI-171 pilots moved suddenly, making him fall on the control panel, causing engines to cut out and the plane to crash? The 'experts" were pointing to both pilot error and bad maintenance by Air India. Was this a pre-emptive strike to ward off suspicions that the seats had possibly malfunctioned on a 787 before? Ominously, aviation news sites have reported this week that the US Federal Aviation Authority is taking action after learning that the RATs on some Boeing 787s and Airbus were produced using inferior titanium sourced from China supplied by Spirit AeroSystems. It has issued a notice of proposed rule that if approved would require airlines to inspect the fittings on selected 787-9s and 787-10s. The Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour worked for that company. These two recent incidents involving Dreamliners belie statements endlessly pushed after the AI-171 crash that Boeing 787s have a 'flawless" safety and performance record. The aircraft manufacturer has to strongly push that line considering that after many similar assertions of perfection, Boeing's 737-Max had been revealed to have a faulty software which was the real cause of the crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, months apart in 2018 and 2019. When Boeing was so confident back then and also had many cheerleaders for its aircraft—till conclusively proven otherwise—what is the probability that it would try the same tactic again in 2025? At that time too, it had the backing of President Trump until the world outcry got too loud and all Boeing 737 Maxes had to be grounded pending safety checks. But eventually the behemoth American corporation negotiated a deal to avoid prosecution for those 346 deaths. This June, Boeing agreed to fork out $1.1billion in a deal with the Department of Justice that includes paying $444.5 million to the victims' families and spending another $445m to 'improve" its compliance, safety and quality programmes. Boeing has already paid $243m of a $487.2m criminal penalty settled in 2021. Some call this blood money. Finding Air India's pilots responsible for the AI-171 crash rather than any design or manufacturing fault would help Boeing too. The US media has also been curiously reticent when it comes to reporting on the two most recent Boeing Dreamliner glitches that appear to indicate that what happened to AI-171 was not the result of any deliberate actions of pilots but a catastrophic failure of aircraft systems which left no time for remedial measures. Why is the US media not analysing the spate of mishaps? Just because none of these led to the same tragic consequences as the Dreamliner called VT-ANB? The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. tags : boeing view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 02, 2025, 14:23 IST News opinion Opinion | The Dreamliners' Nightmares Are Increasing In Frequency Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Air India London-Delhi flight delayed by 11 hours due to aircraft and crew issues
Air India London-Delhi flight delayed by 11 hours due to aircraft and crew issues

India Today

time19 hours ago

  • India Today

Air India London-Delhi flight delayed by 11 hours due to aircraft and crew issues

Air India's flight from London to the national capital on Friday was delayed by more than 11 hours and will now depart on Saturday morning."Flight AI2018 from London Heathrow to Delhi on 1 August is delayed due to the late arrival of incoming aircraft and is now scheduled to depart at 0800 hrs local time on 2 August. The delayed arrival resulted in the crew coming under the mandatory flight duty time limitation norms as well as night curfew restricting operations at London airport," Air India said in a have been offered the option of full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling of their tickets. The flight was originally scheduled to depart at around 2035 hours on August 1, according to information available on flight tracking website about the number of passengers was not immediately available. The flight will be operated with a Dreamliner Boeing Thursday, the London-bound Dreamliner aborted takeoff at the Delhi airport due to a technical issue and an alternate Dreamliner operated the flight to London."Flight AI2017, operating from Delhi to London on July 31, returned to the bay due to a suspected technical issue. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the takeoff run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks," the airline said in a statement on Thursday and added that an alternative aircraft was being the statement on Friday, Air India said the passengers are being duly informed about the revised departure time."Our ground colleagues in London will make every effort to minimise the inconvenience caused to any passenger by offering hotel accommodation and refreshments. Full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling will also be offered to passengers based on their preference," it the duration of the London-Delhi flight is around 10 hours.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Air India

London-Delhi Air India Flight Delayed For Over 11 Hours
London-Delhi Air India Flight Delayed For Over 11 Hours

NDTV

time21 hours ago

  • NDTV

London-Delhi Air India Flight Delayed For Over 11 Hours

New Delhi: Air India's flight from London to the national capital on Friday was delayed by more than 11 hours and will now depart on Saturday morning. "Flight AI2018 from London Heathrow to Delhi on 1 August is delayed due to the late arrival of incoming aircraft and is now scheduled to depart at 0800 hrs local time on 2 August. The delayed arrival resulted in the crew coming under the mandatory flight duty time limitation norms as well as night curfew restricting operations at London airport," Air India said in a statement. Passengers have been offered the option of full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling of their tickets. The flight was originally scheduled to depart at around 2035 hours on August 1, according to information available on flight tracking website Details about the number of passengers was not immediately available. The flight will be operated with a Dreamliner Boeing 787-9. On Thursday, the London-bound Dreamliner aborted takeoff at the Delhi airport due to a technical issue and an alternate Dreamliner operated the flight to London. "Flight AI2017, operating from Delhi to London on July 31, returned to the bay due to a suspected technical issue. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the takeoff run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks," the airline said in a statement on Thursday and added that an alternative aircraft was being deployed. In the statement on Friday, Air India said the passengers are being duly informed about the revised departure time. "Our ground colleagues in London will make every effort to minimise the inconvenience caused to any passenger by offering hotel accommodation and refreshments. Full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling will also be offered to passengers based on their preference," it added. Generally, the duration of the London-Delhi flight is around 10 hours.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store