Ranchi: Chaos, anger, and frustration gripped Birsa Munda Airport on Friday after at least 10 IndiGo flights to various destinations across the country were cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded for hours at the airport.
Scenes of heated arguments broke out between fliers and IndiGo officials as passengers demanded clarification and alternative arrangements. They alleged negligence and a technical glitch on the airline’s part as they did not receive any prior intimation and learnt about the cancellations only after reaching the airport.
On Friday, IndiGo flights 6E 6799 to Bengaluru at 8:55 am, 6E 398 to Hyderabad at 9:30 am, 6E 2294 to Delhi at 2:45 pm, 6E 5139 to Delhi at 5:45 pm, 6E 328 to Hyderabad, 6E 5139 to Delhi at 6:50 pm, 6E 5017 to Mumbai at 6:50 pm, 6E 209 to Chennai at 7:10 pm, and 6E 191 to Hyderabad at 8 pm were cancelled.
“Another IndiGo flight, 6E 5071 scheduled to reach Ranchi from Delhi at 2:15 pm was cancelled on Friday. While a few other flights including 6E 925 Ranchi-Patna, 6E 221 Bengaluru-Ranchi, 6E 327 Hyderabad-Ranchi, and 6E 6902 Patna-Ranchi were delayed on Friday,” an official at Birsa Munda airport said.
Due to the cancellations, passengers were left anxious and frustrated at the airport after missing their scheduled flights, many of which were booked for urgent and important work. The last-minute cancellations also resulted in several international travellers missing their connecting flights to destinations such as Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.
A Ranchi-origin family living in Saudi Arabia missed their flights to Delhi from where they were scheduled to board another flight to Dammam in the Middle Eastern country.
Sanjeev Singh, one of the passengers to Saudi Arabia, said, “My wife, our two children, and I were scheduled to board an IndiGo flight to Delhi at 2:45 pm on Friday. Later we had to board another flight to reach Saudi Arabia. However, as our flight got cancelled, we could not board the international flight. My children had their exams scheduled on Monday, now they will not be able to take it.”
Singh added that they did not receive any prior information about the cancellation until they reached the airport.
“The three tickets except mine were allowed to do web check-in despite the cancellation. While I inquired with IndiGo staff about the glitch, they could not provide any valid reason. We got our flight rescheduled to Delhi on Dec 7,” he added.
Delhi-based businessman, Ramesh Goyal, was on a business trip to Ranchi. He arrived in Ranchi on Wednesday but could not board his return flight to Delhi on Friday.
“This is a very frustrating situation. I had to reach Delhi by Friday evening for some urgent work. Now, after arriving at the airport, I learnt about the cancellation. Other airlines are also taking advantage of the situation and have increased the fares,” he added.
Vinod Kumar Jaiswal and nine other members of his family were stuck at the airport on Friday. They were was going to Kochi on a holiday but could not board their connecting flight to Bengaluru due to the cancellation.
“We have already spent Rs 6 lakh on our bookings. Hotels in Kochi are also refusing to refund the amount. This IndiGo chaos has cost me several lakhs of rupees. I will never book an IndiGo flight in my life,” Jaiswal added.
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