The unprecedented scale of IndiGo flight cancellations has pushed travellers into taking unprecedented routes — even flying abroad to reach another Indian city — as they scramble to reach weddings, business meetings and international connections on time.

Some passengers are choosing international detours to avoid cancellations, while others are reaching the airport hours early, pleading with the airline to prepone their flights to any service that might still operate.

Aroon Shahani, a businessman, and his wife are due in Pune on Sunday for a wedding. Their direct IndiGo flight from Calcutta was booked a month ago, but the recent chaos left Shahani uncertain whether the flight would operate.

“Given the situation, I was scared the flight would get cancelled,” Shahani said on Saturday. “On Friday I tried to switch to another airline, but only a few seats were left on flights via Mumbai, and fares were as high as ₹70,000.”

Worried that other domestic airlines might also cancel flights and unwilling to risk missing the wedding, the couple looked for an alternative. They booked Thai Airways tickets from Calcutta to Bangkok, followed by a connecting flight to Mumbai, from where they plan to take a car to Pune. Each ticket cost them ₹45,000, far cheaper than last-minute Calcutta-Mumbai fares for Saturday or Sunday.

India currently enjoys visa-free entry to Thailand, easing their detour.

A direct flight from Calcutta to Pune takes about two-and-a-half hours. The Shahanis, however, will travel nearly 16 hours: the Thai Airways flight departs Calcutta at 12.30am and arrives in Bangkok at 6am local time, followed by a two-hour layover. Their onward flight is scheduled to reach Mumbai around 1pm on Sunday, after which a three-and-a-half-hour drive will take them to Pune.

“But at least we will be able to attend the wedding,” Shahani said.

Tour operators said that for the past few days, passengers have been taking such unusual routes to avoid getting stranded. “Travellers who have UAE visas are taking low-cost flights to Dubai and then going onward to Mumbai,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India (eastern region).

Business travellers, too, are making last-ditch efforts to keep their plans intact. J.P. Monani, a businessman headed for Moscow via Mumbai and Baku, was booked on an IndiGo flight to Mumbai at 6.30pm on Saturday. Worried the flight might be cancelled, he arrived at the Calcutta airport seven hours early, around 11.30am.

“I had to carry leather samples from Mumbai for a customer in Moscow. I was panic-stricken about what could happen if the evening flight got cancelled,” Monani said.

At the IndiGo counter, he found two earlier flights to Mumbai — both cancelled. He tried other airlines but could not find a seat. With no choice, he waited outside the terminal for hours before entering in the evening, only to find his flight delayed by several hours.

“The airline offered food at the counter at 1pm,” he said. “In the evening, they again asked passengers to go to the food court, show their boarding passes and have food.”