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The passenger of an Air India plane who remained stuck inside the aircraft for six hours has pointed to several factors that sparked anger among people, after several airlines cancelled hundreds of fights due to low visibility in Delhi yesterday.

Rifka Verma, the passenger, told NDTV today their patience ran thin due to a combination of factors – children getting restless, not getting food, and air-conditioning not working.

“The flight was to take-off at 9 am. It was obvious seeing the weather condition it would be delayed. But they kept giving conflicting information. After 2 pm, when the aircraft was ready, they said they don’t have a crew as that crew has been put on another flight,” Ms Verma told NDTV.

“It was absolute chaos. After they got a crew it was 5.30 pm. We boarded around 8 pm. There was no pilot. I don’t think the ground staff or the crew is to blame. It’s the management, or rather mismanagement… There was no food, only some packets of chips in 17 hours,” she said.

“They are not valuing their customers, and not keeping them informed,” Ms Verma said.

Smooth coordination in Delhi airport broke down yesterday after hundreds of passengers of delayed flights demanded answers from the airlines.

The stressful day also saw the passenger of an IndiGo flight attacking a pilot inside the plane while it was on the tarmac.

Air India in a statement today said it regrets the disruption to operations arising from the last few days’ dense fog in north India, including at “our main Delhi hub, which resulted in some diversions and desynchronisation of aircraft and crew rotations.”

“We are working hard to restore schedules, and sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers,” Air India said.