Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday sought a report from Air India after a scheduled flight it was to operate was allegedly deployed for flying out India’s victorious T20 World Cup team from Barbados.

DGCA’s step came following reports that the airline pulled out its Boeing 777 originally scheduled to operate a regular flight from Newark to Delhi for the trip out of Barbados, causing difficulties for passengers.

At least two DGCA officials confirmed the move. “The regulator has asked Air India to provide a report to establish the facts,” one of the DGCA officials close to the matter said.

Aviation expert Mohan Ranganathan said that the cancellation of a flight is a serious violation of DGCA’s civil aviation rules (CAR).

The Air India spokesperson remained unavailable for a comment.

An airline official in the know of the matter said, “The airline that was originally to fly the Indian cricket team had to cancel after which Air India was approached by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This is when B777 was identified for the task.”

He however clarified that no passengers were stranded at the Newark airport. “All the passengers booked in the Newark-Delhi flight were informed well in advance and even given an alternative, minimising the inconvenience caused.”

“Even after this, some passengers could not be informed about the flight cancellation as a result of which they turned up at the airport. They were, however, taken to New York by road and were accommodated in the New York-Delhi flight,” the official added.

However, one of the passengers, Ankur Verma, who was booked on AI 106 with his wife and daughter, claimed that he was neither informed about the cancellation nor compensated. “..I had to book another ticket on American Airlines...” his post on X read.

“This made the DGCA to seek report from the airline to check the facts,” a second official said.

The T20 World Cup-winning team flew out of Barbados on Wednesday afternoon at around 2.30pm (IST) and is scheduled to land at around 5.40am on Thursday.

India beat South Africa in the final on Saturday. But the squad was stuck on the island due to Hurricane Beryl.

The Air India charter flight that took off on July 2 landed at Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport at around 2am local time. The flight with the call sign (unique codes given to aircraft before operating a flight) AIC24WC took off from Barbados with the Indian squad, cricket officials and a set of Indian journalists. The call sign stands for Air India Champions 24 World Cup.

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