Passengers left stranded in Jaipur as pilot refused to fly plane saying his duty was over

JAIPUR: Passengers of a Alliance Air's Delhi bound flight had a harrowing time at Jaipur airport when the pilot of the aircraft refused to fly saying his duty hours were over. Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India. Some of the passengers were taken to Delhi by road while others were provided hotel accommodation and the rest were sent in another flight on Thursday morning. “The pilot’s duty-time got over and therefore, he could not take the flight,” said J S Balhara, director, Sanganer airport, Jaipur. He said the pilot cannot exceed duty hours for safety reasons as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms. “The pilot and crew of a flight coming from Delhi was scheduled to take the flight (9I-644) from Jaipur to Delhi last night. But, the flight from Delhi was delayed and landed at Jaipur at 1.30 am,” a staff at the Air India station office said. The pilot refused to fly due to duty limitations prescribed by the DGCA, he said.