Supriya Sule Slams Air India Over Delhi Flight Delays

Photo: Instagram/@airindia

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) Member of Parliament Supriya Sule was very upset with Air India on Friday night after her flight from Delhi was delayed for more than an hour.

She posted about the delay on her official X (formerly Twitter) account, saying, “Yet another delay by Air India. Passengers are stranded and visibly distressed.” She explained that her flight was first scheduled for 10:30 PM, then it got delayed to 11:30 PM, and later pushed again to 11:45 PM.

Ms. Sule, who is the MP from Baramati in Maharashtra, said this was not a one-time issue. “This isn’t an isolated case – it’s becoming a troubling norm,” she wrote. She also tagged Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and asked him to take immediate action.

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In reply, Air India said that bad weather earlier in Delhi caused delays in many flights and affected the whole schedule across the country. The airline said, “We appreciate your patience and understanding.”

This is not the first time Supriya Sule has spoken out against Air India. In March this year, she had strongly criticized the airline for repeated delays. In one of her posts, she said, “Air India flights are endlessly delayed – this is unacceptable! We pay premium fares, yet flights are never on time. Professionals, children, and senior citizens – all are affected by this constant mismanagement.” She had also asked the Civil Aviation Minister to take action and make the airline more responsible.

In another post, she mentioned that her Air India flight AI0508 was delayed by 1 hour and 19 minutes. She said this was part of a “continuous trend” of delays. She requested the minister to make stricter rules so airlines like Air India would give better service to passengers.

Air India had replied to her post at the time, saying they were sorry for the inconvenience. They blamed the delay on operational issues beyond their control.

Last year too, Ms. Sule had complained about an Air India flight that was delayed without giving any advance notice to passengers.

What Caused the Delay This Time?

On Friday morning, Delhi was hit by a strong storm with heavy rain. Because of this, more than 200 flights at Delhi Airport were delayed. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), this was the second-highest 24-hour rainfall in Delhi in May since 1901.

Three flights were also diverted. Two of them were sent to Jaipur and Ahmedabad instead of landing in Delhi.

Later in the evening, around 10 PM, Delhi Airport released a statement. It said that because of changing wind patterns, some flights might still get delayed. From 10:30 PM to 1:30 AM, the air traffic control (ATC) team was set to manage flight arrivals more carefully to keep passengers safe. This was being done following all safety rules.

The airport added that all terminals and runways were working normally and told passengers to stay in touch with their airlines for updates.