IndiGo cancellations shatter weddings, jobs, medical plans

Patna: Passengers at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport endured another bruising day as IndiGo’s operational meltdown rolled into its fifth straight day, turning routine travel into a test of patience and despair.

On Sunday, the airline cancelled 14 more flights to and from Patna without warning, leaving hundreds stranded across the terminal, some clutching now-useless boarding passes, others watching wedding plans, medical appointments, and urgent business trips collapse in real time.A terse notice from the airline stated that all 14 scheduled flights were cancelled on Sunday due to “operational reasons”. The axe fell on almost every major route out of Patna – several daily flights to Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ranchi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Pune.

Many flyers complained they learned of the cancellations only after reaching the airport, deepening the sense of chaos.“I did not even get a message on our phones,” one passenger, Pratyush Kumar, said. “By the time we stood in line at the counter and found out it was cancelled, both time and money were already wasted,” he added.Inside the terminal, confusion took hold. IndiGo counters were swamped, announcements were almost non-existent and tempers frayed as passengers realised that flights on rival carriers were either sold out or priced sharply higher due to the sudden rush.

Rajesh Kumar, who works in Kuwait, arrived at the terminal hoping to fly Patna-Mumbai to connect to his Kuwait flight, scheduled at 8pm. “I got a message that only the Patna-Mumbai leg is cancelled, but Mumbai-Kuwait is running fine,” he said. “I kept calling IndiGo and even their Kuwait customer care – nobody picked up. Now my international flight will definitely be missed. There are no SpiceJet or Air India seats left today or tomorrow, and even train tickets are sold out.

If I somehow reach Delhi or Mumbai after two or three days, I’ll have to buy a new international ticket worth three to four times the original price. This is completely unfair,” Kumar said.Another flyer, Anand Tiwari, who has urgent business in Bengaluru, said, “I was supposed to travel from Patna to Bengaluru for a client meeting on Monday, but my flight got cancelled on Sunday. Now, even the website is not responding for rebooking Plan B or refund.

Extremely disappointed with the service and handling.”Aryan Prasad was hit twice as his second booked flight for Delhi was cancelled. “On Dec 5, the Patna-Kolkata flight was cancelled. I booked another ticket for Sunday, so that I can appear for the job interview on Monday. But the flight has been cancelled again. Looking for other ways to reach the destination,” he said, as stress was etched on his face.Another flyer, Ravish Kumar, said, “No intimation, no prior notification, also no response from customer care, and on reaching Patna airport I found that the flight for Pune has been cancelled.”Worse still, the airline has already announced a wave of pre-emptive cancellations that will continue to hit the city airport from Dec 8 till Dec 11. Key routes, including Delhi-Patna, Kolkata-Patna, Hyderabad-Patna, Chennai-Patna and Bengaluru-Patna, will remain grounded for the next four days. As per the list, seven to eight flights will be cancelled each day during the same period.