AI books tickets for a flight that didn’t exist
A ticketing error led Air India to book passengers for a flight that did not exist, and then hurriedly arrange for an aircraft to correct the mistake and avoid further inconvenience to flyers, the airline official said, after affected people highlighted an unusual mix-up at Bhopal airport on March 27.
The passengers had booked tickets for Air India flight AI 481, which flies from Delhi to Bhopal and then onwards to Pune, after the company’s reservation system and the website showed it as one of the options. However, the flight was not scheduled for that day, and was meant to fly the route a day later.
The airline realised the mistake when people began turning up at Delhi and Bhopal airports on Sunday. The erstwhile national carrier -- it is now owned by the Tata Group -- then arranged for a plane at Delhi, which left from the Capital around noon as AI 481 with six passengers. It was not immediately clear why the occupancy of the flight was so low or if some of the passengers originally booked on AI481 were accommodated on other flights.
The airline confirmed the incident, but did not attribute a cause.
“AI481 on the Delhi-Bhopal Pune sector of 27th March, 2022, had left Bhopal at 1430 hrs. The scheduled time of departure of this flight was 1045 hrs. There was a delay of 3 hrs 45 minutes. From Delhi to Bhopal six passengers travelled and from Bhopal to Pune 49 passengers travelled in the flight,” a company spokesperson said.
An official who was aware of the matter said the mix-up occurred because the airline recently updated its schedule. “As per the airline’s new schedule, no such flight was to operate on a Sunday. As a result of this (people turning up), the airline decided to operate the flight. The aircraft had to be arranged and flown to Bhopal. This was a result of miscommunication between the scheduling and reservations departments.”
The flight AI481 operates on the Delhi-Bhopal-Pune (and return) sector. The official quoted above said the AI481 was operating four times a week till March 26 and was rescheduled from Monday. But, the schedule was not changed on the website due to which the flight remained open for booking.
“It was only when the passengers at Bhopal airport reached out to the Air India officials did the airline officials learn about their fault. After the passengers raised the matter and complained of the mismanagement, the airline was forced to call for an A320 aircraft to fly from Delhi to Bhopal. The flight then flew with six passengers on board,” the official quoted above added.
According to flightradar24, an internet-based flight tracking website, AI 481 (which takes off on other days at 10.45am) from Bhopal finally took off at around 2.38pm. It normally takes off from Delhi at 8.30am. “The Pune-bound passengers in Bhopal were travelling for a wedding and insisted that they reach Pune by the evening,” the official added.
The flight, which lands in Pune at around 12pm on other days, reached at around 3.45pm due to the delay. “As the flight booking remained open to customers, passengers were booked on the return leg too. The Pune- Bhopal flight operated with 18 passengers and then the Bhopal to Delhi flight operated with 44 passengers,” the official said.
A Delhi airport official said that the flight from Bhopal on the return sector was delayed due to last-minute arrangements.