Chaos at Kolkata Airport intensified on Friday as stranded passengers—foreign tourists, domestic travellers and families—scrambled for alternatives amid widespread IndiGo cancellations and delays.

Hung, a traveller from Vietnam on a pilgrimage across India with 13 others, had his IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Varanasi diverted to Bodh Gaya—only for that flight to be cancelled as well.

Travellers from Vietnam on a pilgrimage are paying nearly Rs.1 lakh to travel to Bodh Gaya

Determined to continue, the group boarded a private bus from Kolkata Airport. The fare: $ 1,100, nearly Rs.1 lakh, to cover the 470-kilometre journey by road.

“It’s the only option we had,” he said, exhausted after hours of waiting at the terminal.

Ron, a retired IT professional from Chicago, faced a similar ordeal. His flight to Pune was cancelled an hour after check-in. “I kept looking for any flight to Mumbai or Pune that wasn’t with Indigo,” he said. “The prices are exorbitant—but I’m lucky it’s all in dollars. I know my privilege when it comes to the pricing.”

Ron, who had been visiting friends in India, said he was now considering flying to any city close to Pune just to get moving again.

Ron said 'I'm looking for any flight that's not Indigo'

For domestic passengers, the frustration cuts even deeper.

Kiranjeet Singh, travelling with four friends—three from Germany and one from India—received a cheerful “welcome on board” short message service (sms) from Indigo early in the morning. When they arrived at the airport, the departure board said “cancelled.” The counter staff then claimed it was “delayed” and issued boarding passes, only for the flight to be called off later.

“We were told it would leave at 12:10 pm, so we waited. But there was no communication. Zero,” said Singh.

Trying to reach Varanasi, they explored other flights—to Patna, to Allahabad—but ticket prices had shot through the roof.

“A Kolkata to Allahabad flight was Rs.24,000, another was Rs.47,000. It’s profiteering because of the situation,” he said. The group has now hired a minibus to Varanasi for Rs.90,000, splitting the cost among the five passengers.

Others, like Ranjit Singh Thakur, General Manager of Raga Mahindra in Amritsar, said they have never seen such chaos. Travelling with 12 family members, including several senior citizens aged between 60 and 77, Thakur had planned to go to Puri via Kolkata to celebrate an anniversary.

This family ended up paying Rs 60,000 to travel by road to Puri

He described how they ran between gates after repeated delays and misinformation.

“There were no proper notifications. We only found out it was cancelled when we saw the board,” he said. With no trains or commercial cars available, the family finally arranged a tempo traveller to Puri. “It usually costs Rs.10,000, but they charged us Rs.60,000 by road. What to do? We’re helpless,” he said.

Even those hoping to find a night’s rest in Kolkata faced difficulties.

For stranded passengers, finding rooms was a struggle. Indigo had reportedly reached out to hotels, including Sarovar Portico at Rajarhat, seeking bulk accommodation for travellers. But the available rooms were far fewer than needed.

With road transport agencies hiking rates, hotel rooms filling up, and no assurance of refunds, many travellers said they feel abandoned.

The lack of clear communication from airlines has compounded their distress.

Anil Punjabi, from the Travel Agents Federation of India (Eastern India Chapter), said the situation has spiralled out of control.

“We are currently trying our best to give customers the best alternative travels possible. Our customers are our bread and butter—we cannot even think of wronging them,” he said. “At the same time, I am hearing that local travel agents are taking full advantage of the situation and charging exorbitant rates for road transport. I hope the government steps in because all kinds of travel prices have now shot through the roof—and it’s only the customers who are bearing the brunt of this unfortunate situation.”