Passenger fury erupted at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) on Thursday as travellers staged loud protests against IndiGo airlines. The demonstrations were a direct response to prolonged flight delays, sudden cancellations, and a near-total breakdown in communication from the airline's staff.
Stranded and Angry: A Day of Airport Chaos
The trouble started early in the morning. Passengers arriving for their flights found themselves stranded for hours with no clear information. They accused the airline of failing to provide timely updates, leaving them confused and helpless. Frustration grew over repeated rescheduling and a perceived lack of assistance from ground personnel.
Dhruv Choudhary, a passenger who reached the airport at 7 am, captured the scene and posted visuals on social media platform X around 11 am. The videos showed agitated passengers raising slogans against the carrier. "Total chaos at Lucknow airport. Flights are being delayed indefinitely and passengers are stranded with zero options," Choudhary wrote. He sharply criticised IndiGo for showing "absolutely no accountability — no updates, no communication, no responsibility, just repeated delays and sudden cancellations."
Personal Ordeals: Missed Weddings and Wasted Days
The situation deteriorated through the afternoon, impacting travel plans severely. One flyer recounted how their connecting flight from Bengaluru, IndiGo 6E 435, originally scheduled for a 4:50 pm departure, was pushed to 9:30 pm. With no clear update from the crew, they were forced to cancel their entire journey and miss a wedding function.
Another harrowing account came from Sarvesh Pandey, an IATA-certified travel agent. His flight to Surat via Delhi was disrupted on Wednesday evening. After receiving no support from customer care, he reluctantly agreed to be rebooked on a Thursday flight via Hyderabad to catch his Friday connection to Sharjah. To his shock, he discovered the rescheduled flight had already left on Thursday morning without any notification. "At the airport, I was told no amendment was ever made to my original booking," Pandey said, adding that this failure caused him to miss a crucial event and waste two days. The airline later placed him on a direct flight to Sharjah.
"As a professional travel agent, this experience highlights a severe breakdown in communication and support," Pandey told the Times of India. The disruptions particularly affected families travelling with children for winter vacations and those heading to marriage functions, many of whom missed their connecting flights.
Airline's Response and the Scale of Disruption
Facing the backlash, IndiGo issued a press statement attributing the widespread disruptions to multiple operational challenges. The airline cited winter-related schedule changes, adverse weather conditions, air traffic congestion, minor technology glitches, and new crew rostering rules as contributing factors. To stabilise operations, IndiGo announced calibrated schedule adjustments for the next 48 hours.
According to data from Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), which manages CCSIA, the scale of the problem was significant. A total of 12 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Thursday, with several other flights experiencing delays ranging from two to four hours. This operational meltdown turned the airport into a scene of frustration and protest, underscoring the growing passenger discontent with airline reliability and customer service during peak travel season.
