“Gas chamber” is the last term that one might want to use for a plane– yet, that was exactly the word that a SpiceJet passenger used for his Delhi to Pune flight– that left him and the rest of his co-passengers with a rather nightmarish experience! The flight was reportedly originally scheduled to depart Delhi at 4.55 PM on Thursday, August 06; however, it was delayed multiple times. However, despite a delay of over 5 hours- the ‘delay’ itself was not the worst part about the journey; it was instead when passengers were left ‘struggling for air’!
Although the incident took place last week, it was only after almost a week that the incident finally took over headlines. Videos of passengers panicking are also coming forward, leaving the internet reacting.
Amid the same, a passenger, Leshpal Javalge- recounted what he went through during the mayhem. “The flight was scheduled to depart from the Delhi Airport’s Terminal 1 at around 9:55 PM. After a delay, we boarded at around 10:30 PM.”
Javalge claimed that the temperature inside the aircraft began to rise as soon as the doors were closed: “Hot air began blowing from the AC vents.” Allegedly, passengers did wait for a few minutes for the AC to settle; however, nothing changed. “As soon as the aircraft doors were closed, the temperature inside the cabin started rising. Instead of cool air, hot air began blowing from the AC vents. We waited for around 10–20 minutes, hoping the AC would start working, but there was no relief. Within half an hour, passengers were sweating profusely and struggling with the heat and suffocation.”
“When we complained to the crew, we were told that the AC would start in two minutes. But even after it was switched on, only hot air continued to come out,” the passenger continued.
The passenger then compared the inside of the aircraft with a “gas chamber”. “It felt like a gas chamber inside the aircraft. If this had continued for a little longer, someone could have suffered a serious health problem.”
Allegedly, the aircraft had already been taken to the runway; however, passengers were still struggling to breathe.
“The aircraft had already been taken to the runway. Children started crying, and some elderly passengers complained of difficulty breathing. One passenger began panicking because of a heart-related issue, while a pregnant woman also started feeling unwell because of the heat and suffocation.”
“Even the crew members and air hostesses were sweating heavily. Their clothes were soaked. Eventually, it became clear that there was a technical problem with the aircraft, and the plane was brought back,” the man stated.
The man then claimed that the aircraft was later inspected by a technical team, after which the passengers were shifted to another plane. “A technical team inspected the aircraft, after which we were told that another flight would be arranged. We were not ready to board the same aircraft again because we were concerned about our safety.”
“We were finally given another flight at around 5 AM. We had been at the airport throughout the night and had to wait for nearly three hours sitting near the aircraft. What upset me further was the way some SpiceJet staff allegedly responded to passengers’ complaints. Instead of properly addressing our concerns, we were allegedly told to remain quiet,” the man claimed. “Passenger safety cannot be taken so lightly. I want the authorities to investigate this incident and take appropriate action against SpiceJet,” he added.
Reportedly, the boarding finally began at around 9:40 PM, whereas the flight took off at 10 PM. It then landed at 12:10 AM in Pune on Friday, August 08.