Jaipur, July 27 (IANS) Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MP, Hanuman Beniwal, on Monday criticised Air India and the Central Government after his Jaipur-Delhi flight was delayed by over an hour, causing him to miss reaching the national Capital on time ahead of Parliament’s Monsoon Session.

Beniwal was scheduled to arrive in Delhi before the Lok Sabha proceedings began at 11 a.m. so he could meet fellow Opposition MPs on key issues. However, Air India flight AI 1834, scheduled to depart Jaipur at 8:50 am, took off only around 10:10 am, resulting in a delay of nearly 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Expressing his displeasure on X, Beniwal said frequent flight delays and poor management were causing inconvenience to lakhs of passengers across the country.

“Today at 11 a.m., before the proceedings of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament began, I was supposed to arrive in Delhi from Jaipur and hold a special discussion with fellow Opposition MPs regarding the parliamentary proceedings.

“However, Air India flight number AI 1834 from Jaipur to Delhi has still not taken off from Delhi to Jaipur even after the scheduled time, while its scheduled departure from Jaipur is at 08:50 a.m.

“Day after day, millions of passengers are troubled by flight delays and disarray in the country, but Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and Civil Aviation Minister Shri @RamMNK remain silent on this serious issue. It seems that the Government of India no longer has any effective control over airline operations and punctuality.”

The Nagaur MP further said the Centre cannot distance itself from the issue. “Ensuring accountability in the country’s aviation system and respecting passengers’ time is the responsibility of the Central Government. It cannot continue to turn a blind eye to these problems,” Beniwal said, while tagging Air India in his post.

He also alleged that Air India flights are frequently delayed and questioned why the government was not taking steps to improve operational efficiency.

Responding to Beniwal’s post on X, Air India apologised for the inconvenience and explained that the delay was caused by the late arrival of the incoming aircraft.

“We understand your concern. The delay in flight AI 1834 was due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft. We regret the inconvenience caused,” the airline said.

–IANS

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