A Bengaluru woman wanting to give a respectful farewell to her father, a group of 25 pilgrims, including the elderly, children and women, wanting to return to Silchar from Jeddah, those returning from Sabarimala
– these are among the scores of passengers stranded at airports across the country amid the IndiGo chaos. Even as the authorities are trying to resolve the crisis with temporary relief amid thousands of flight cancellations and widespread delays, travellers are grappling with severe stress, with unresponsive staff and no clarity. For instance, Namita, stranded at Kempegowda International Airport while on her way to Haridwar for her father’s ‘Asthi Visarjan’, told ANI, “I have my father’s ‘Asthi’ (mortal remains post cremation) with me. I have to reach Delhi from Bengaluru. Board a flight to Dehradun from Delhi to reach Haridwar. The ‘Asthi Visarjan’ has to be done tomorrow. The flight has been cancelled without any prior notification. Now they are saying that they have no flights for today. They are asking us to book a flight with other airlines.”
ALSO READ | IndiGo Flight Cancellations Live Updates Here
The surging ticket prices on other airlines, the disruption of the plans for her onward journey from the airport and the refund are among her concerns amid grieving the loss of her parent. “Flight tickets for other flights cost Rs 60,000 per person, which I cannot afford… We are not able to reach Haridwar. All our money is wasted. A partial refund will be received after a week. We have no idea how much would be deducted. I request the government to arrange something for me to reach Haridwar because my father’s asthi visarjan in Ganga Ji is very urgent…”
#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Namita, stranded at Kempegowda International Airport while on her way to Haridwar for her father’s ‘Asthi Visarjan’, says, “I have my father’s ‘Asthi’ (mortal remains post cremation) with me. I have to reach Delhi from Bengaluru. Board a flight to… https://t.co/PeIlIuByBY pic.twitter.com/5kw8tnixqX
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2025
A group of youngsters stuck at the Trivandrum airport and a family awaiting a flight to Raipur are worried about how they will be able to report to office in time.
#BreakingNews | Indigo flights cancelled in multiple cities. DGCA conducts field inspections at major airports@AnvitSrivastava shares more details @Neethureghu reports from Trivandrum Airport | @RShivshankar#indigochaos #IndigoFlightsCancelled pic.twitter.com/cxTXhZX81X
— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 5, 2025
A woman at the Goa airport expressed the frustration over the delay. “We were not informed that they are cancelling the flight…We have been awake since 5 am, and we have been waiting here for 2 hours. There is no information and we are standing in the queue for hours and now they are saying that they will not even provide the stay. Tomorrow they are providing us with the flight, we have a wedding to attend. So, it’s a total mess…We are really disappointed with IndiGo,” she said.
#WATCH | A passenger says, “We were not informed that they are cancelling the flight…We have been awake since 5 am, and we have been waiting here for 2 hours. There is no information and we are standing in the queue for hours and now they are saying that they will not even… https://t.co/SlZgHzGcdB pic.twitter.com/8WNU4McLEh
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2025
Another explained how the lack of communicationwas harrowing. “We have been told that our flight to Raipur has been cancelled. They are offering us an exchange so that we can take a flight tomorrow, but it is not confirmed whether that flight will even depart. We have to stay here for a day. They are asking us to speak to customer care…,” he said.
#WATCH | Ali Haider, a passenger, says, “…Our flight was cancelled yesterday, so we had to extend my stay in Jeddah for one day. Now that we have reached here, they are not letting us get in…I am hearing that our connecting flight is delayed once again. We have no details… https://t.co/00CHOBa6Qb pic.twitter.com/a9FKj3u4sZ
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2025
At Gujarat, Ali Haider elaborated on the plight of those who were returning from a long international travel. “…Our flight was cancelled yesterday, so we had to extend my stay in Jeddah for one day. Now that we have reached here, they are not letting us get in…I am hearing that our connecting flight is delayed once again. We have no details regarding our food and accommodation…Our last destination is Silchar. IndiGo staff are not communicating with us…What will we do,” he asked, even as he highlighted that his group of 25, with elderly and women, was struggling with even basics such as access to a toilet, wheelchair or food.
What is causing the IndiGo chaos?
IndiGo has been mired in chaos over the past four days, with 700 flights cancelled on Friday alone — the highest single-day cancellation count in the carrier’s 20-year history. Passengers at major hubs including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai have reported long queues, missing luggage, limited assistance and widespread confusion.
IndiGo acknowledged that it misjudged crew requirements under recently revised duty norms, resulting in severe shortages at a time when winter weather and airport congestion were already straining operations. Despite corrective measures, the airline has warned that more cancellations are expected over the next two to three days as it attempts to stabilise schedules.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has told employees that restoring normal operations and the airline’s hallmark punctuality will not be an “easy target”.
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) December 5, 2025
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday eased a key crew-duty requirement as IndiGo’s operational crisis continued to disrupt air travel nationwide, leading to thousands of flight cancellations and widespread delays. In an official order, the regulator said it was temporarily withdrawing the rule that barred airlines from substituting weekly rest with accumulated leave, a restriction that had complicated crew rostering during the ongoing crisis.
IndiGo has requested partial relaxations of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms to stabilise operations, noting that full implementation is expected only by February 2026. Amid the chaos, IndiGo on Thursday evening issued an apology to passengers and industry stakeholders affected by the widespread disruptions across its network and operations. “Our teams, in close coordination with MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI, and airport operators, are working tirelessly to minimise the cascading impact of these delays and restore normal operations. We continue to keep passengers updated on any changes to their scheduled flights and strongly advise checking flight status before heading to the airport,” the airline posted on X.
With ANI, PTI inputs
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