More than a hundred passengers booked on an IndiGo flight from Pune to Bengaluru endured a harrowing experience on Sunday evening, left in the dark for over six hours due to a significant delay and a severe lack of communication from the airline.
Chaos and Confusion at Pune Airport
The flight, numbered 6E-137, was originally scheduled to depart from Pune at 5:00 PM and arrive in Bengaluru by 6:40 PM. However, the journey turned into an ordeal that stretched past midnight. Passengers received their first intimation of trouble just before the scheduled departure time. A message informed them of a new take-off time of 7:15 PM.
"This update was practically useless as almost all passengers had already reached the airport by then," said Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, whose wife was on the affected flight, in a statement to the media. The confusion only deepened from there. Around 7:00 PM, another message pushed the departure to 8:00 PM, accompanied by a sudden gate change announcement directing everyone to gate number 9.
A String of Unfulfilled Promises
The airline's staff then announced at approximately 8:15 PM that the flight would finally take off at 9:15 PM. This promise, too, was broken. In a sudden development around 9:45 PM, a senior IndiGo staff member appeared to announce that boarding would commence at 10:05 PM.
The flight eventually managed to take off at 11:05 PM, a full six hours and five minutes behind schedule, landing in Bengaluru only after midnight at 12:20 AM on Monday. Throughout this extended period, the airline failed to provide a clear explanation for the massive delay, leaving passengers to rely on rumors and speculation.
Consequences and Passenger Anguish
The lack of timely information and the prolonged wait had serious consequences, particularly for travelers with connecting flights. Some passengers who had onward international connections were forced to cancel their tickets and book alternative flights at a hefty personal cost, as the delay made their original itineraries impossible.
Venugopal highlighted the complete communication breakdown, stating, "Amid all these, no one from the airline explained to the passengers the reasons for the delay. Some flyers said they heard that the cabin crew or the pilot fell ill, while some said the inbound flight had not arrived." When queried about the incident, IndiGo did not provide an official response, with a source only citing vague "operational reasons" for the disruption.
The incident underscores a growing concern among air travelers regarding transparency and customer service during operational disruptions, turning a routine domestic journey into a stressful and costly affair.
