Passengers of an Air India flight from Gatwick to Amritsar experienced an unpleasant situation after water started leaking from the overhead bins onto the seats. Several videos of the water leakage aboard the aircraft have surfaced online and are viral. A statement was issued by the airline as well.
In one of the videos shared by a user account @baldwhiner on X, water can be seen dripping from the overhead hand baggage storage bins directly onto the seats. The cabin crew was seen assisting the flyers by putting a cloth over the panels. Other passengers were seen filming the scenario.
"Air India... fly with us - it's not a trip; it's an immersive experience," the flyer wrote.
The incident happened aboard the B787 Dreamliner on November 24. In one of the clips, the pilot was also heard addressing the issue.
While some social media users called the situation scary, others explained that it could be a condensation issue. A section of people even slammed the airline for their service.
“Oh my god. This is scary,” a user wrote. Another user commented, “It's condensed water coming from the air con system. Happens quite often on B787, used to be standard on IC A300 when they didn't have air con while on the ground.”
“This is a technical glitch. Can happen with any airline. Looks like the passengers are more comfortable than guys who propagate the video to defame the airline,” a third user remarked.
“This may not be entirely their fault. Maybe. But this implies that there was possibly a massive amount of frost that had condensed onto the root/overhead bin structures. Then if the skin of the aircraft warms up to above freezing, this can cause rapid melting leading to the cascade of water. But it appeared to be slowing down. Normally, this water would go sideways down the sides of the insulation into the bilge area of the fuselage that’s drained overboard. This is where it could be Air India’s responsibility - a rodent may have damaged the insulation in that area causing the failure. Because there’s also nothing else up there. And that was water. Not fuel, not hydraulic fluid and certainly not an overhead water tank,” a fourth user exclaimed.
Another person added, “I travel through the London- Delhi sector often, the Air India service is pathetic. They have the same planes as Vistara, and both are run by TATA now, but they are just apples and oranges. Broken arm rest, screens not working, reading light, fan non-functional. Very sad state of affairs!”
As the videos went viral, Air India issued a statement that read, “Flight AI169 operating from Gatwick to Amritsar on 24th November 2023 had developed a rare occurrence of condensation adjustment inside the cabin. Some of our guests seated in the affected rows were promptly relocated to other vacant seats and given the circumstances, the cabin crew made every effort to make the guests comfortable. Air India is committed to the safety and comfort of guests on board and we regret this unexpected incident.”
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