'Becoming a troubling norm': Supriya Sule slams Air India over delays again

NEW DELHI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) MP Supriya Sule once again slammed Air India on Friday, voicing her frustration over repeated flight delays.


Her latest remarks came after her scheduled 10.30pm flight from Delhi was delayed twice—first to 11:30pm and then to 11:45pm—leaving passengers stranded at the airport.
Taking to her official X handle, Sule wrote, "Yet another delay by Air India. Passengers are stranded and visibly distressed. Flight was scheduled for 10:30 PM, delayed to 11:30 PM, and now further pushed to 11:45 PM." She added that the issue was not an isolated one, calling it “a troubling norm” and tagged Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu urging him to “intervene without delay.”
Responding to her post, Air India issued a statement attributing the delay to bad weather earlier in the day in Delhi. "Dear Ms. Sule, adverse weather earlier in Delhi today delayed multiple flights that had a cascading effect on our schedule across the network. Your flight will depart shortly. We appreciate your patience and understanding," the airline stated.
This isn’t the first time Sule has called out Air India. In March, she had similarly criticised the airline for frequent delays, describing the situation as “unacceptable.” In a strongly worded post, she wrote, "Air India flights are endlessly delayed — this is unacceptable! We pay premium fares, yet flights are never on time. Professionals, children, and senior citizens — all affected by this constant mismanagement. Urging the Civil Aviation Minister to take action and hold Air India accountable."
This is not the first time Sule has slammed Air India.
Referring to her personal experience in March, she added, "I was travelling on Air India flight AI0508, which was delayed by 1 hour and 19 minutes — part of a continuous trend of delays affecting passengers. This is unacceptable." She also urged the minister to "enforce stricter regulations to hold airlines like Air India accountable for repeated delays and ensure better service standards for passengers."
At the time, Air India had acknowledged passenger concerns, replying: "Dear Ma’am, we recognize that delays can be very frustrating. However, there are occasional operational issues outside of our control that can affect flight schedules. Your flight to Mumbai this evening was delayed by one hour due to such an issue. We appreciate your understanding."