Although intimations of Air India's precipitate decline have been doing the rounds for quite some time, we have been diehard clientele of the airline, certainly not for love or Atma nirbhar considerations but for the simple reason that we are on its attractive 'Frequent Flyer' programme and hope someday to log up a few free rides amidst the travails of travelling in the national carrier. So, as usual, we confirmed our booking by AI103 to leave New Delhi at 00:45 on July 2 and routed via Vienna to reach Washington Dulles at 11:15 hours on the same day, a scheduled 19-hour journey that began smoothly.

The turbulence hit on landing in Vienna at 6:30 am local time for a routine refuelling. That's when we began our descent into hell. Soon, the local ground engineers came on board, bustling about between the cockpit and the underwing. Around 8:15 am, we got the first announcement from the cabin supervisor that the plane was still being refuelled. She regurgitated the same bulletin every once in a while.

This charade went on till about 10:45 am, when the captain made the big announcement that due to technical problems, the flight was being aborted. Even as our hearts sank in dismay, we couldn't help but chuckle at his unintended ghoulish humour. He ended his apologia by stating that, though the plane was serviceable, a decision was taken not to risk flying over the Atlantic due to the 'intermittent problem!' He seemed to suggest that we were lucky to come this far and should be relieved at the cancellation!

Consider: of the 200-odd passengers on board, the majority were senior citizens, a fair sprinkling of whom were wheelchair-bound. As the plane was parked in the service area, the old and the infirm who could still walk without assistance – including the two of us - had to negotiate the steep aircraft stairs while clutching on to our hand baggage. At the passenger terminal, we were herded together and subjected to the most rigorous security check - our belts, shoes and even our boarding passes put through the scanner. Thereafter, we were escorted by the surly armed police who commanded us to walk in step, rudely pulling up those who were unable to keep pace or strayed away.

We were made to walk an interminable distance to the third floor and then down to the ground floor to an earmarked waiting area – G76 – which operated as the main internment centre – our Gulag - for the next two days. There, we were greeted by three Air India personnel who did what they could to assuage our anger. But what one noticed was that they got no support from the higher AI management and were helpless in the face of the hostile, unhelpful and racist attitude of the Austrian airport and police personnel.

The Air India manager indicated that 100 rooms were being organised for our stay in a nearby hotel, and he would arrange for all passengers to be booked on various flights to Washington, DC, the next day. However, at about 5 pm, he informed us that the hotel was willing to provide only 25 rooms. There followed further arguments and complaints. We were among the lucky 55 passengers who got hotel accommodation, whereas the rest had to make do, in Dharamshala style, with makeshift beds provided in the G76 waiting area.

Those of us in the NH hotel, which was a kilometre away, were given peremptory orders to stay in our rooms, with even the in-house restaurant being out of bounds. We, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, were all served a sparse non-vegetarian platter. The vegetarians went to bed hungry. As the checked baggage was kept in safe custody beyond the reach of passengers, many had to manage without their medicine and cope with the same set of clothes the next day.

At 2:47 on the 3rd morning, we received a message from Air India stating that we had been booked on an Austrian Airlines flight at 10:50 on the 4th morning. We were hopping mad that our departure had been put back by another day, but when we got the gory details of the crazy travel arrangements made by Air India for other passengers, we realised that we were among the few lucky ones. Barring a handful who managed to fly out to Washington, DC on the 3rd, most other passengers were denied direct flights to Washington, DC. They were instead randomly routed via Dubai, Doha, Istanbul and Chicago on the 4th and even on the 5th.

Clearly, the higher Air India management had left us high and dry!
Despite our revised booking being for the 4th, we were all ordered to vacate the hotel on the 3rd morning, again escorted out like criminals and after yet another rigorous security check, taken to G76. On the evening of the 3rd, again, we were put through the tiresome drill of fighting for hotel rooms and deciding who would be accommodated. The sheer physical and mental pressure took its toll on most of us. Everyone vowed never to travel by Air India ever again!

Air India couldn't have done worse, but could it have done better? We have damning evidence to prove that if one had contacts "in the right places," one could get a great deal. An elderly fellow passenger who is highly diabetic and had run out of medicine was initially booked on the 4th via Doha to Washington DC, which meant that he would reach his final destination only on the 5th. Distraught, he spoke to a close relative who works with the high and mighty in Delhi and sought his help. Within an hour of his call, the local Air India Manager informed him that he was booked on a direct flight to Washington, DC, on the evening of the 3rd to reach DC the same night. As has rightly been said, where there is a will…. But clearly, the Air India management was indifferent to our plight!

We reached Washington in the late hours of July 4, but our checked-in baggage has still not been delivered as of July 6. It hurts to think that when Air India was taken over by the Tatas in 2022, we were cock-a-hoop that Air India would soon be transformed into the world's premier carrier. Sadly, it is now an international pariah airline. In recent months, there have reportedly been five cases of Air India flights being aborted or delayed inordinately in Vienna due to technical problems – an unacceptable rate of failure by any standard.

Air India is terminally sick. Only a miracle can turn it around!

(Mathew is a former civil servant. Annie Mathew is an author. The views are personal.)