Couldn't Live Up To Promise To Customers: IndiGo CEO

New Delhi, Hyderabad: Indigo cancelled more than 300 flights cancelled on the third day of disruptions on Thursday, apart from about 200 flight operations affected in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other airports.

At Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, stranded passengers had to hold a protest rally to get food coupons. The airline, however, offered full fare refund to passengers.

Passengers refused to check in their luggage, fearing a repeat of the previous two days when baggage was returned nearly two hours after flight cancellations. Many held on to their bags until boarding was assured.

Seventy-four flights were cancelled on Thursday at the RGIA, comprising 37 departures and 37 arrivals. Many passengers said they had been waiting at the airport since 5 am, with no clarity on whether their flights were delayed or cancelled. The absence of reliable updates left not only passengers but also the crew uncertain about flight status. The airline said it was willing to refund full fares.

IndiGo crew members appeared exhausted, some having left Hyderabad on November 30 but returning only on Thursday. Flight disruptions that began on November 29 worsened from December 1, and insiders warned that the cascade effect may continue for another three days.

Calls to the airline, passengers said, went unanswered, while airport authorities were able only to confirm the number of cancelled flights. Helplines reportedly told passengers to expect a wait of 24-48 hours for alternative flights.

One passenger, who had a visa appointment scheduled for the next morning, said the uncertainty had put him in a difficult position. “The airline did not inform us. The website still shows flights as on-time. Here, no one knows when the flights will actually depart,” he said.

Selvan Dasaraj, another aggrieved passenger to Delhi said, “I was supposed to attend the sangeet ceremony of the son of my friend and India’s first hat-trick wicket taker in cricket Chetan Sharma. With Indigo cancelling my fight I have to miss the big event which I was looking forward to. “My flight was at 5 pm and I reached the airport at 3 pm. The sad part is after reaching RGIA I got a message that the flight was cancelled. I had to travel all the way back to my residence in Mettuguda. This shows the careless attitude of the airlines.”

Other passengers echoed the sentiment, complaining that airline staff gave no clear updates. “They simply tell us to cancel our tickets if we want a refund,” one traveller said.

The crisis also pushed airfares on other carriers to abnormal levels. A Hyderabad-Delhi Air India flight (AI 28 70), scheduled for 9.25 pm, was selling for ₹37,049, according to a passenger attempting to rebook after his IndiGo flight was cancelled.

Angry travellers staged a protest inside the airport, marching in groups and shouting “IndiGo hai hai!”

Another stranded passenger, Surjit, a hotel worker who lost his father on Wednesday, said, “The flight rates were too high, so I chose to take a train from Secunderabad to Kolkata instead.”

Despite the air chaos, South Central Railway officials said there was no unusual increase in passenger numbers. Footfall remained normal: around 2 lakh at Secunderabad, 1.5 lakh at Cherlapally and 60,000 at Hyderabad. TSRTC also reported no major surge in bus travel.