Some long-haul flights of Air India are facing operational issues leading to flight delays, the Tata Group brand said on Friday while responding to reports about shortage of cabin crew.

“Air India regrets that some of our North America flights have been delayed due to operational issues arising from the slower-than-expected issuance of airport entry passes to cabin crew,” the former flag carrier stated while dismissing reports of cabin crew shortage.

While it was not immediately known which specific flights were getting delayed, Flightradar24, a Swedish company that tracks aircraft movement on a real-time basis showed that the Delhi-Toronto AI187 Boeing 777 took off more than seven hours late on Friday. The same flight was delayed by nearly six hours on December 3 and by five hours on December 4.

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“Air India is working closely with relevant authorities to expedite the issuance of remaining passes. We regret the inconvenience that this has caused to our passengers,” the Air India spokesperson added.

Social media posts using pictures purportedly shared by Air India patrons highlighting broken seats and malfunctioning entertainment screens on-board flights to India from North America and western Europe, went viral a few months ago.

On Thursday, Campbell Wilson, MD and CEO, Air India admitted that the cabin product of the airline’s legacy widebody aircraft was falling short of standards. The same day Air India said it will pump in $400 million for upgrading its fleet of 40 long-haul planes comprising B787-8 and B777.

Last month the former flag carrier issued new guidelines on grooming for its male and female cabin crew, including barring them from sporting black and religious threads on the wrist, neck and ankle. The airline has also told the crew to avoid having grey hair but a bald look will be allowed.

Earlier this week Air India said it will lease an additional six Boeing 777-300ERs as part of its expansion plans. It had earlier announced to take 30 aircraft on lease. These planes will be used for plying on the India-US and India-Europe routes.