Two day journey: American Airlines JFK-Delhi nonstop diverted to London; to leave for destination on Wednesday
NEW DELHI: A New York-Delhi nonstop takes about 14-15 hours. But nearly 300 passengers who left New York Sunday morning (India time) on American Airlines flight AA 292 have been cooling their heels in London since Monday afternoon (IST) after the fight had to be diverted to Heathrow due to a medical emergency on board. Now they are expected to take off from there for Delhi on Wednesday.
American Airlines has permission to operate scheduled services between India and the US. Therefore, operating this Boeing 777 from London to Delhi required special permission.
Perhaps till the nod came, the stranded passengers were informed that they may have to fly back to New York and then head from there to Delhi.
While that need did not arise as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowed this American aircraft to fly from London to Delhi as a non-scheduled (charter) operation with a different flight number AA 295, the same is likely to operate on Wednesday (June 1) as the airline arranges for crew to do the same. Which means the 300 passengers who had left New York on May 30 will reach Delhi two days later on June 1 (IST) — instead of what was to be a 15-hour journey.
