Passengers flying with IndiGo from Tamil Nadu faced significant disruptions over the weekend, with multiple flight cancellations and delays attributed to an acute shortage of cabin crew. The Trichy International Airport was notably affected, witnessing the cancellation of three key services on Saturday.
Trichy Airport Bears the Brunt of Cancellations
On Saturday, three IndiGo Airlines flights were cancelled from Trichy International Airport. This marked a slight improvement from the previous day, Friday, which had seen five cancellations. The affected services included a flight arriving from New Delhi, a domestic service to Hyderabad, and an international connection to Singapore. The airline officially cited a shortage of crew as the reason behind these last-minute disruptions.
The ripple effect of these cancellations was felt in passenger traffic numbers. Data showed that the footfall of domestic passengers arriving and departing from Trichy airport dropped to 1,610 on Friday. This was a significant dip compared to the usual daily average, which typically exceeds 2,000 passengers.
Official Helplines and a Return to Normalcy
To assist inconvenienced travelers, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and IndiGo activated dedicated helplines. Passengers were advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport using the following contact numbers:
- AAI (Airport Terminal): 0431-2340554, 73737-74163
- IndiGo Airlines: 93159-60804, 0431-2340016
Airport and airline officials provided some relief by indicating that flight services are expected to normalize starting Sunday, allowing schedules to stabilize.
Madurai Airport Experiences Delays
While Madurai airport did not report any outright cancellations of IndiGo flights on Saturday, it was not immune to disruptions. A flight originating from Hyderabad, which was scheduled to arrive at 3:00 PM, finally landed around 6:30 PM, causing a delay of over three hours.
In a separate incident, an aircraft that had arrived from Abu Dhabi on Friday remained parked at the Madurai airport throughout Saturday. An official clarified that this was because there was no scheduled departure for that particular aircraft on that day.
The weekend's events highlight the operational challenges airlines can face, with crew scheduling issues creating a direct impact on passenger plans across important regional airports in Tamil Nadu.
