Pune: For passengers booked on SpiceJet’s Pune-Dubai flight, an 11-hour delay turned a routine journey into a major disruption, forcing some to rearrange work commitments or even travel via Mumbai.Flight SG-51, originally scheduled to depart at 9 pm on Wednesday, finally took off at 8.10 am on Thursday after its departure time was revised to the following morning.For a Dubai-based construction worker, the delay threatened his livelihood. “I am a simple construction worker in Dubai, and a flight delay like this means a lot to me. I cannot simply call my employer and ask him to book me another flight. People like us can even lose our jobs in such situations. I somehow managed to convince them about the delay,” he said, requesting anonymity.Another passenger said he was forced to cancel his ticket after the delay jeopardised an important business meeting scheduled for 10am on Thursday. “The flight was supposed to leave at 9pm and reach Dubai around 11pm. What sense does it make to delay it by almost a day? I was traveling for an important meeting with a business partner. I had to cancel my ticket, travel to Mumbai, and take another flight to reach on time,” he said.The passenger questioned why flyers were expected to simply accept such delays just because they had been informed in advance. “What makes airlines think that informing flyers about a delay solves the problem? Flights to Dubai from Mumbai are operating normally. This issue needs a proper investigation,” he added.SpiceJet, however, stated that passengers had been informed seven hours before the original departure time. “The scheduled departure of SpiceJet’s Pune-Dubai flight on Sept 2 was revised to 8am on Sept 3. Passengers were informed at 2.15 pm on Sept 2,” a spokesperson said.The airline attributed the delay to operational factors, including severe air traffic control (ATC) congestion in Dubai and en-route congestion, which resulted in departure-slot constraints and flight sequencing by Dubai airport authorities.
