Nagpur's Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport descended into chaos on Thursday as a major operational crisis at IndiGo Airlines led to the cancellation of nearly half its fleet operating from the city. The widespread disruptions left hundreds of passengers stranded and caused airfares on other carriers to skyrocket to unprecedented levels.
Mass Cancellations and Stranded Passengers
By 9 PM on Thursday, 11 IndiGo flights were cancelled, with many others facing significant delays. As the largest operator at Nagpur airport with 22 flights, the IndiGo crisis had a massive impact. Only five flights managed to take off from the airport till the evening. The cancelled services connected Nagpur to major hubs including Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Goa. Since most routes operate on a to-and-fro basis, arrivals were equally affected.
The situation at the airport was one of confusion and frustration. The departure gate signboard at 8:30 PM displayed the status of just a single flight. At the IndiGo booking counter, executives offered little hope, with one bluntly advising, "Don't ask for tickets for at least a week." The employee added that even they were unsure of availability, as many delayed flights were eventually being cancelled.
Soaring Fares and Passenger Ordeals
With IndiGo's capacity suddenly removed from the market, fares on other airlines operating from Nagpur witnessed an astronomical surge. One carrier was charging an astonishing Rs 22,000 for an economy class ticket to Mumbai or Delhi—a rate typically seen for business class. In some cases, prices shot up to Rs 50,000 per person, with the earliest available seats not before December 6.
Passengers shared harrowing tales of last-minute cancellations. Devendra Singh and his friend Mukul Soni purchased tickets just a couple of hours before their scheduled flight, only to discover it was cancelled. "I purchased the ticket to Delhi right from the airline's portal at 7 PM for a flight at 9 PM. Why should they sell tickets if the flights were cancelled?" questioned an angry Devendra.
The Wakharia family's plans to catch an international connection from Delhi to Tokyo were thrown into disarray. They had initially booked a flight to Delhi for Friday but, anticipating trouble, preponed it to Thursday. That flight too was cancelled, forcing them to book a taxi for the long road journey to Delhi.
Operational Breakdown and Ripple Effects
The crisis highlighted a cascade of operational failures. In one peculiar incident, a flight from Kolkata to Pune was diverted to Nagpur around midday, only for the journey to be scrapped altogether, leaving 162 persons aboard. Sources clarified this was not a standard diversion due to a technical snag or medical emergency. "The airlines simply said it was an operational reason," revealed a source.
Further investigation indicated that Pune airport had no available parking bays, already clogged with other cancelled flights, leading to the diversion and the ultimate truncation of the journey.
The strain extended to the airline's ground staff, who were left overstretched and exhausted. One staff member highlighted the unfairness of the situation, asking, "We have to report at a given time, but there's no fixed schedule for return since two days... If DGCA wants pilots to have fixed hours, why not the ground staff?" Their workload had multiplied, handling endless cancellations and rescheduling for distressed passengers.
As Thursday night wore on, airport employees warned that more cancellations were likely by midnight, extending the travel nightmare for many. The event serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of air travel networks when a major player encounters systemic issues.
