Indigo passengers face rude behaviour, authorities silent

HYDERABAD: Several Indigo airlines passengers reached out to Deccan Chronicle with grievances and complaints of rude and unacceptable behaviour by an air hostess, after airline authorities remained indifferent to their complaints.

Among those who complained about the behaviour by the airline’s staff at different locations, the worst incident reportedly took place on June 13, when a prominent senior advocate of the Telangana High Court, L. Ravichander, was travelling on a 7.30 am flight to Vijayawada. 

Narrating his early morning experience, Ravichander said, “They made us wait in the bus for half an hour, because a passenger had not come. I questioned this waiting of an entire busload for a single person. He could have come to the aircraft in a jeep later. That was to be just the beginning of a long torture.”

The ordeal continued. Ravichander said, “When we were aboard the aircraft, the air-conditioning was not functioning and we were sweating like in a furnace. When there was no respite for almost 20 minutes, I approached the flight attendant, Kushmita, who tersely remarked ‘there is a technical glitch. We cannot move the aircraft.' When I sought to know why an announcement was not made, she replied, ‘Sir, you can't be rude to me.’ The fact of the matter was that she replied in a rude manner."

The scene continued. “She told me, ‘you know I can de-board you,’ to which I replied, ‘do it... right now.’ Then she turned on her walkie-talkie, called someone, saying, ‘I want to de-board someone’. Although I could not hear the reply on the other side, in a short while, the flight took off,” he said.

Ravichander, who returned to Hyderabad the next day, said his luggage, which was supposed to come on baggage belt no 16, was also delayed. “There was no one from Indigo to assist passengers. I was charged extra for fast forwarding of luggage but mine arrived last," he said.

Brahammam, a real estate promoter from Visakhapatnam, confirmed the events.

“The air-conditioner was not switched on and my shirt was drenched in sweat. As the flight was getting late, the gentleman sitting beside me approached the flight attendant. She fumed and shouted, ‘you can lodge a complaint wherever you want nothing will happen to me’. It almost felt like she was the owner of the airlines.”

Vikram Paul, zonal head of a top financial institution, said, “I am getting used to this problem whenever I travel by Indigo Airlines.... late baggage on the conveyor belt. I always end up waiting for at least half an hour."

J. Sumaya, a student, said, “Four months ago, I was travelling by Indigo to Saudi Arabia. With 30 minutes remaining for take-off, the boarding gate was changed and the ground staff asked all passengers to hand over cabin bags to them. It was utter confusion. I forgot my backpack at the boarding gate. As I stepped into the aircraft I realised my bag was missing. I spoke to the crew to get my bag on board but they refused and threatened to de-board me.”

After landing at the King Fahd International Airport in Riyadh, she searched for the Indigo helpdesk only to discover that they had no office there. “It took me 10 days to connect to Indigo Airlines. Finally they sent me my backpack on the 11th day. It was an irksome experience. , I will not fly Indigo Airlines for as long as I can,” Sumaya said.

Rev. Joseph Christopher said, “I mostly travel in Indigo. The staff lacks courtesy. When we ring the bell to call an attendant, they ignore or take a very long time to respond. Earlier, the airline staff used to greet and help us with a smile. Today, they take passengers for granted."

Abdul Aziz from Hyderabad, said, “I had a horrible experience on June 13, while flying from Hyderabad to Mumbai (Flight 6E5384) at 11.05 am. The flight got delayed. I was sweating as the A/C was not turned on. When I reached out, the flight attendant bluntly replied that there was some disturbance. Again, after some time I approached her, she chided me in a rude tone. The next day, my flight (6E5045) scheduled for 11.35 pm from Mumbai to Hyderabad, was delayed by around one hour. But no one at Indigo were bothered."