Overbooked Air India flight leaves passengers behind

Some passengers of an Air India Delhi-Rajkot flight were left aggrieved today at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here after the airline denied boarding to them on the ground that the flight was overbooked.

The airlines did not allow some passengers to board the Rajkot-bound flight scheduled for around 5 pm from here.

Confirming the incident, an Air India spokesperson said it was a "rare occurrence" and that only two passengers were affected.

They are being send to their destinations through an alternative flight. The passengers are believed to have protested the incident at the airport terminal, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said usually up to 10 per cent extra booking is allowed to ensure optimum capacity utilisation and keeping in mind the last minute cancellations.

"In this particular sector, 2-3 per cent extra booking was allowed and in this particular flight all the passengers reported for the journey, thus leading to this incident," the spokesperson said.