Kolkata: Yet another Boeing aircraft, a B 737-800 plane operated by low-cost carrier Thai Lion Air, developed a snag at Kolkata airport on Saturday, leading to the flight's cancellation. The flight from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, touched down at Kolkata airport with 151 passengers on board at 1.23 am on Saturday. According to schedule, Thailand-bound passengers boarded the flight, and the aircraft was pushed back for departure at 2.35 am. However, complaints about the air-conditioning malfunctioning forced it back to the parking bay.
After it returned to the parking stand at 2.43 am, passengers were asked to alight as it was hot and humid in the aircraft. Later, when it became apparent that engineers needed to be flown in from Thailand to fix the issue, the 130 passengers on the flight were accommodated in a hotel.
Airport officials said engineers from Thailand arrived on Saturday afternoon and that the aircraft would be ready to depart around 2.30 am on Sunday. However, sources said the airline was expecting the flight to depart by 9 am on Sunday.
The plane is around 10-years-old and did its first flight on Dec 22, 2015.
Two other Boeing aircraft, a B 787-800 Dreamliner and a B 777-200LR operated by Air India, were also stranded at Kolkata airport due to of technical snags.
"The problem of the Dreamliner that was grounded on June 29 has been rectified and it flew back to Delhi two days ago. Boeing engineers are flying down to sort the issue with the B 777 aircraft that is grounded since June 17. We expect the aircraft to become operational again only around July 15," an official said.