IndiGo delays trigger chaos at Delhi airport; passengers protest cancellations

Tempers flared at Delhi airport on Saturday as weary passengers vented their frustration over yet another disruption to an IndiGo flight bound for Purnea, capping two days of travel turmoil.

Travellers said IndiGo flight 6E 9076, scheduled to depart Delhi for Purnea, was delayed on Saturday after being cancelled outright the previous day, forcing many to hurriedly rearrange plans and rebook tickets. When the flight failed to take off as expected once again, anger spilled over at the boarding gate, with passengers staging protests and demanding answers.

Several flyers recounted that after Friday’s cancellation, they had returned to the airport hopeful of a smooth journey, only to be met with fresh uncertainty. On Saturday, airline staff initially attributed the delay to bad weather, passengers said, before some were later told that a pilot was unavailable to operate the flight — a claim that further fuelled resentment.

The episode unfolded against a backdrop of widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network. Earlier in the day, the airline had issued advisories warning of possible delays and cancellations due to dense fog and reduced visibility at multiple airports.

IndiGo’s operations have been under sustained strain in recent weeks. On 29 December 2024, the carrier cancelled as many as 118 flights across the country, citing a combination of adverse weather and operational constraints. Of these, six were grounded due to operational issues, while the rest fell victim to poor weather conditions.

The turbulence has been ongoing. In early December, stricter court-mandated flight duty and rest norms for pilots forced the airline to cancel thousands of flights — including nearly 1,600 in a single day — leaving lakhs of passengers stranded nationwide.

Since the onset of the winter fog season on December 10, cancellations have continued unabated. On 25 December alone, IndiGo called off 67 flights, and on Saturday another 57 services were cancelled across several airports due to weather-related challenges.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has designated 10 December to 10 February as the official fog window for the winter season, a period when low visibility routinely casts a shadow over flight operations — and patience — at airports across India.

With IANS inputs