Air India makes bookings for 194 passengers for a flight with144 seats

Air India passengers were left in a lurch due to a technical glitch in the system. On Saturday, more number of passengers flying from Kolkata to Guwahati reported at the airport.

Air India booked flights for 194 passengers whereas the capacity of the Air India flight AI 731 was only for 144.

This glitch left Air India staff high and dry as passengers were fuming due to the error in the system.

"It was an unprecedented situation. We do have 2-3% overbookings but on Saturday, it was 31% on the Kolkata-Guwahati flight. The passengers were justifiably furious and we didn't have any explanation to offer. An error seems to have occurred in the reservation system. Instead of displaying that the flight was full once 144 tickets had been sold, it continued to accept reservations. Thus, 194 passengers turned up for the flight," an AI official told TOI.

The passengers were stranded as no aircraft could be re-deployed to Kolkata at such short notice.

Air India then accommodated passengers in a hotel and made flight arrangements for the following day.

"The prospect of an error like this creeping into an international flight is frightening. The airline can get sued by passengers. We are trying to identify the cause and rectify it at the earliest. Officials at the headquarters in Delhi have already been alerted and are investigating the case," another official told TOI.