'Captain went off to another flight': IAS officer slams Go First over delay

IAS officer Sonal Goel said that the flight G8 345 from Mumbai to Delhi was scheduled to depart at 22:30, but was delayed by nearly two hours because the captain was not available.

Hyderabad: Scores of flyers traveling from Mumbai to Delhi were left high and dry after a Go First flight was delayed by nearly two hours on Friday night. IAS officer Sonal Goel, who was among the passengers stranded due to the inordinate delay, brought the matter to light. In a series of tweets, Goel slammed the airlines for the delay.

Goel said that the flight G8 345 from Mumbai to Delhi was scheduled to depart at 22:30, but was delayed inordinately while slamming the “unexpected and pathetic handling of flight operations” by the airlines. When the passengers inquired with the airline staff over the reason for the delay, they said that the Captain “is not available”, Goel said.

Goel said that the delay was almost 1 hr 45 mins adding the reason conveyed to passengers was that the “Captain of Flight went off to another flight”. “So they were arranging another Captain. Is this kind of unprofessional handling acceptable? Our citizens of country don’t deserve this kind of handling,” she said. “If Captain is not available; why all passengers were made to board the flight. With small kids , ladies and old age passengers on board; they are not serving anything to eat in flight except water. There was no communication through any means about the delay of flight earlier,” the IAS officer wrote in another tweet.

She further said that the staff on board the flight had no specific answer as to when the Captain will arrive. “Is this the way our Commercial flights are supposed to operate; Without any professionalism and accountability?” she asked. A Go First Airlines spokesperson while apologizing for the delay, attributed it to the “unforeseen events”, it said, “sometimes challenge us”.

“We work hard to run an on-time airline; however, unforeseen events sometimes challenge us. Sorry, this happened with your flight. In the future, we'll try harder to meet your expectations,” the Go First spokesperson said. IAS officer Goel was in Mumbai for a fashion event for supporting cancer patients. The event was organized for V Care Foundation, curated by the fashion designer Shaina NC.