Passengers stage protest at Bhubaneswar Airport after Hyderabad-bound flight cancelled twice

Several passengers staged a protest at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar on Thursday following frequent cancellations of a Hyderabad-bound flight.

As per reports, Air India flight IX 2932 was scheduled to fly from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad at 9.55 am on Wednesday. However, the flight was cancelled due to some reason and it was rescheduled to 8.45 am on Thursday. However, the flight was again cancelled causing severe inconvenience to the passengers. 

The development irked the passengers and as a result, more than 60 passengers staged a protest following which tension prevailed at the airport.

As per the protesting travellers, the airport authorities didn’t inform them about any specific reason for the cancellation of the flight.

Most of the passengers had to catch up connecting flights in Hyderabad and some others had urgent official work. The passengers expressed their disappointment over the fact that they would miss the connecting flights and other important work due to the frequent cancellation of the flight from Bhubaneswar.

Expressing resentment over the development, the passengers had no alternative but to resort to demonstrations at Bhubaneswar Airport as the airport authorities allegedly didn’t make any effort to hold discussions with them.

Later, Bhubaneswar Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan said that there was a delay in the arrival of the flight from Hyderabad due to technical issues.

“There was a delay in the arrival of the flight from Hyderabad due to technical issues. However, the flight landed in Bhubaneswar at 11.15 am today and the aircraft is almost ready for departure. As per the guidelines of the airlines, replacement and rescheduling of the connecting passengers have already been done. Safety is the first and foremost priority in case of technical issues and the passengers should accept the delay,” said Pradhan.

“I can’t say anything about the strike as it’s the grievances of people and they are expressing it. We have no control over the technical issues,” he added.