Actor Sonu Sood on Saturday urged passengers to treat the Indigo staff with kindness amid flight cancellations and delays, saying that the ground staff members were “helpless” in the current crisis.

“I have a short message for everyone facing inconvenience due to delays in Indigo Airlines over the past three days. My own family was travelling, and they had to wait for over five hours. Then the flight took off and they arrived at their destination. But many flights got cancelled. A lot of people could not attend weddings, meetings and rent were cancelled. But it is sad to see how people were shouting at the ground staff,” the 52-year-old actor said in a video on X.

“I know that it causes frustration and you vent out your anger. But please imagine yourself at their position who are helpless and are unaware of the schedule. They are just passing on the messages to you what is conveyed to them from superiors. The way people reacted and were fighting is very unfortunate. This is the staff from the service industry which always takes care of us with a smile on their faces,” he added.

“I think it is also our responsibility when they are in trouble to support them. It is not their fault but a systemic problem. I think as responsible citizens we should make sure not to react. They are helpless and they don't have any answers. Please try to keep your cool and control your anger. They are also doing their duties and we should also meet them with a smile just like they do,” the actor concluded.

Comedian-actor Vir das, too, came out in support of the ground staff on Saturday. “The decent thing to do? The entire senior management of Indigo should be made to take shifts at the airport and stand there. From CEOs to VPs and such. The decision makers. Instead of the terrified junior employees with no power, cabin crew, and ground staff, who have been left to deal with the yelling and screaming,” he wrote on X.

IndiGo Airlines is currently facing a severe operational crisis due to its inability to secure a sufficient crew for its wide network. The airline cancelled all domestic flights departing from Delhi Airport till Friday midnight.

More than 1,000 IndiGo flights were cancelled over the past four days in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

On the work front, Sonu was last seen in the actioner Fateh, which was also directed by him. The cyber thriller released in theatres on 10 January and also features Jacqueliene Fernandez, Shivjyoti Rajput and Vijay Raaz.