An Air India spokesperson confirmed that an AI flight bound for Delhi from Bagdogra had a faulty air conditioning system and yet took off, much to the chagrin of the fliers who had to use to paper fans. Allegedly, the crew already knew about it.

Passengers complained of suffocation and breathlessness on the AI-880 that took off at 1.50 p.m. on Sunday and had 168 fliers on board. The flight landed in Delhi 25 minutes before the scheduled landing time.

A video shows that passengers complaining about the lack of AC. The crew had allegedly claimed the AC would be on once the flight took off. Clearly, that was not the case. Some fliers tried to use oxygen masks, but even those were not working.

The airline is runs a huge debt of more than Rs 52,000 crore and is expected to be privatized soon.