‘Refund Isn’t A Solution’: Delhi IndiGo Passenger Calls Out Airline After Flight Cancellation

Disruptions in air travel have remained a concern for passengers across India, with several flights facing delays or cancellations in recent weeks. While airlines attribute these changes to operational factors, some passengers have highlighted challenges in managing the aftermath. A man has now spoken about the inconvenience his brother-in-law faced after IndiGo cancelled a flight from Ahmedabad to Delhi.

Bigul Chugh, in a post on X, said the airline initially offered a full refund and asked the passenger to book another ticket, without providing re-accommodation on an alternative IndiGo flight despite the cancellation being due to operational reasons.

“When he contacted them, the default response was: full refund, please book another ticket yourself,”

the tweet read. He pointed out that this meant passengers had to deal with higher fares, limited seat availability, and ruined plans all due to an airline cancellation.

He said his brother-in-law pushed back and clearly asked for re-accommodation on the next available Delhi flight, instead of a refund but the response stayed the same, “Not possible, we can issue full refund. Please book flight yourself.”

My brother-in-law had a flight on Saturday from Ahmedabad to Delhi.

IndiGo cancelled the flight citing “operational reasons.”

When he contacted them, the default response was: full refund, please book another ticket yourself.

He pushed back and clearly asked for…

— Bigul Chugh (@bigulchugh) January 12, 2026

Only after persistent follow-ups and prolonged arguments did the airline finally agree to re-accommodate the passenger, booking him on another IndiGo flight departing nearly four hours later.

The user questioned IndiGo’s customer handling practices, “Why not ask the customer upfront what they want? Why force a refund and make passengers rebook on your own fault?”

He wrote, “Refunds don’t fix disrupted schedules. Re-accommodation does ( upto some extent atleast). Stop trying to pass the inconvenience (and cost) back to the customer after cancelling flights due to your failure.”

IndiGo’s response

IndiGo has reacted to this issue and asked the passenger to share their ticket details for further investigation.

Hi, we’re concerned to hear about this and would like to look into it right away. Could you please share the PNR over DM so we can assist you further? ~Jasmine https://t.co/xcJPAig2qK

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 12, 2026

The tweet read, “Hi, we’re concerned to hear about this and would like to look into it right away. Could you please share the PNR over DM so we can assist you further? ~Jasmine.”

Social media reactions

The post quickly went viral with people sharing their own experiences and suggestions in the comment section.

One person wrote, “Refund is the cheapest option for the airline, not the fairest for the customer. Re-accommodation should be the default. Refund should be a choice.”

Refund is the cheapest option for the airline, not the fairest for the customer. Re-accommodation should be the default. Refund should be a choice.

— Nitin Sinha (@NsNitinsinha) January 12, 2026

Another commented, “As a rule, liability must be 2-3x refund as advance fare is lower than trying to book flight same day!”

As a rule, liability must be 2-3x refund as advance fare is lower than trying to book flight same day !

A 4K ticket can cost easily 15-20k and may not even be available @DGCAIndia @IndiGo6E

— Tarun Surana (@SuranaTarun) January 13, 2026

One user shared the similar experience, stating “Same thing happened with me last year on Del- Varanasi flight. On repetitive questioning and asking for seat on next flight- they were able to give 3 seats easily. Indigo is working hard on “we first” instead of Customer first approach.”

Same thing happened with me lst year on Del- Varanasi flight.
On repetitive questioning and asking for seat on next flight- they were able to give 3 seats easily..
Indigo is working hard on “we first” instead of Customer first approach

— Prashant (@prashantnhn) January 12, 2026

“Refund is an easy option for airlines, plus a scam to lure them into booking a more expensive one,” wrote another.

Refund is an easy option for airlines, plus a scam to lure them into booking a more expensive one.

— Vaibhav (@vaibhavluthra) January 13, 2026

Last month, IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights with reports estimating between 2,000 and 4,000 cancellations that stranded thousands of passengers. It was one of the country’s largest aviation disruptions in years.