Malaysia Airlines offloads passengers after oxygen snag delay, arranges alternatives
While half the passengers were not allowed to board the flight citing a technical glitch, the flight later departed at 2.20am with 100 passengers, though the flight was originally scheduled to depart at 11.55pm on Sunday.
In the early hours of Monday, a Malaysia Airlines flight (MH181) to Kuala Lumpur faced a two-hour delay at Chennai airport's international departure terminal due to an "oxygen shortage." The flight, which was originally scheduled to depart at 11.55pm on Sunday, eventually took off at 2.20am with only 100 passengers on board, as opposed to the intended 178.
Malaysia Airlines did not officially disclose the reason for the delay and the reduced number of passengers, but aviation experts suggested that the oxygen shortage was the cause for denying boarding to certain individuals.
According to Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a chemical reaction activates the oxygen masks during an emergency, leading airlines to declare certain seats "inoperable" if the chemical generator for the oxygen is not functioning. This may have been the reason for the airline's decision to not allow some passengers to board the flight.
One affected passenger shared on X that they had been stranded for over six hours, with the airline providing no response, water, or information about the flight status. The airline responded to this complaint, apologizing for the distress caused to passengers, especially those with onward connections, who faced a prolonged delay, uncertainty about travel arrangements, and a lack of timely updates during the disruption.
Chennai airport sources confirmed that Malaysia Airlines arranged alternative flights for the stranded passengers.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
