Airports nationwide descended into chaos on Friday as IndiGo’s delays and cancellations triggered long queues, frayed tempers and disrupted plans.
Passengers from Hyderabad to Delhi and Bengaluru to Kolkata were left stranded for hours amid sparse updates and mounting confusion.
In Karnataka’ Hubballi, a newlywed couple had to attend their own wedding reception virtually.
Medha Kshirsagar and Sangama Das were stranded in Bhubaneswar after their flights, from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru and onwards to Hubballi, were delayed from morning to late night and then cancelled.
With guests already assembled and preparations complete, the bride’s mother said, “We were still hopeful that they might make it, but they couldn't.”
The family decided to go ahead, placing the bride’s parents in the couple’s seats for the rituals while the couple joined over video call. “It was impossible to cancel the event at the last minute,” a family member said.
At Hyderabad airport, one passenger said she arrived at 5 a.m. only to be told her flight was cancelled. She showed her boarding pass, but staff insisted the flight would not operate and “sent me home.”
"At around 7 am, someone calls me from the boarding gate, asking where I am because the flight is about to leave," she said. She questioned whether the airline was trying to adjust for stranded flyers from the previous day or deal with overbooking.
By the time she rushed back, she found herself “standing in this long queue.”
“As of today, there is information that 11 flights have been cancelled, and all IndiGo flights are getting delayed. No flights are operating on schedule from Bhubaneswar Airport," said Bhubaneswar Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan on Friday.
In Bengaluru, Namita was traveling to Haridwar for her father's Asthi Visarjan but she was stranded at Kempegowda International Airport.
"The 'Asthi Visarjan' has to be done tomorrow. The flight has been cancelled without any prior notification. Now they are saying that they have no flights for today. They are asking us to book a flight with other airlines. Flight tickets for other flights cost Rs 60,000 per person, which I cannot afford, I request the government to arrange something for me to reach Haridwar," she said.
At Kolkata airport, a passenger heading to Port Blair said they had been “stranded here for 3–4 hours” despite having a travel package arranged. The family couldn’t find alternate tickets and said IndiGo was “not helping us at all.”
"Our sister is coming from Bangalore, and she's already in Port Blair. Now we cannot even coordinate the whole plan. It's very difficult at this moment,' he said.
A flyer in Goa had missed a connecting flight to Lakshadweep because the incoming IndiGo aircraft landed late.
The passenger said they “didn't get any cooperation” and at Delhi airport the previous night, staff “would not inform anyone of anything,” describing the situation as chaos.
In Delhi, Advocate Shweta Kapoor said, “My flight was last night, and when we reached the Delhi IGI Airport, check-ins were happening, but none of the IndiGo counters were working. Multiple flights were delayed and some were cancelled, but the passengers had not received their baggage yet."
She said her flight to Mumbai was rescheduled repeatedly before the IndiGo app finally showed it as cancelled at 6 a.m., adding that “even the staff seemed very confused.”