Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], December 6 (ANI): Long queues, passengers in tears, and repeated flight cancellations created a morning of severe disruption at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International
Airport on Saturday, as IndiGo continued to face nationwide operational delays. The disruptions came even as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) placed its Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) orders in abeyance with immediate effect. The regulatory pause follows days of nationwide delays and cancellations affecting IndiGo’s flight operations, causing widespread inconvenience to passengers across sectors. At Ahmedabad airport alone, between 12 am and 6 am on Saturday, seven arrivals and twelve departures were cancelled, airport officials said. The halt in services triggered long waiting lines, crowding at counters, and growing frustration among passengers unable to find alternate travel options. Among those impacted was Mahrishi Jani, who broke down while explaining how the disruption cost him and his team an opportunity they had worked towards for months. “I was scheduled to go to Guwahati on a 6.15 am flight; this was a connecting flight from Kolkata. We were selected for Smart India Hackathon 2025; about 74,000 ideas were submitted there, and nearly 1400 ideas were selected. Our centre was North-Eastern Hill University, and we were scheduled to perform there,” he told ANI. Jani added that despite months of preparation, the cancellation left his six-member team and two accompanying mentors with no viable alternative. “We had booked IndiGo flights. But the flight is delayed and so, we will not be able to go there. There is no other possible way of transportation. If we take a train, it will take us 3 days to reach there. Our hard work of 6-7 months is now wasted. We are returning home. Such opportunities are rare…We were selected in the first attempt, but due to flight cancellation, we are unable to go ahead. We were a team of 6 people, and we were accompanied by 2 mentors.” Another passenger, Ikhlaq Hussain, described being stranded despite travelling internationally. “I have reached Ahmedabad from Jeddah, and I am scheduled to head to Lucknow…I am stuck here for the past 2 days but the flight keeps getting delayed,” Hussain said. On Friday, a large number of passengers faced inconvenience across the country as IndiGo flights experienced delays and cancellations. Amid the ongoing issue, a passenger who was scheduled to reach Bengaluru from the Jodhpur Airport shared that the airline has been unresponsive since morning. “No one from IndiGo is providing any answers. We have been standing here since morning… I have been standing here since morning. I have to reach Bengaluru urgently by evening… I am worried,” he said. Additionally, another, a passenger at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, Odisha, shared her ordeal, stating that even after spending three hours at the airport, she was not given any clarifications on her flight status. “My flight from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru was scheduled for December 5… I had a flight to Vietnam from Bengaluru. This crisis began on December 3. I reached here yesterday to ask about my flight schedule…I spent three hours here asking them about my flight status, but they said they don’t know… Yesterday, they had flights to Bengaluru…I requested them to accommodate me in one of their flights scheduled for Bengaluru so that I could catch my international flight to Vietnam from here… but they did not accommodate even one seat for me… We did not have the option to travel by road because the distance between Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru takes 25-26 hours to cover… No one is listening to anything. There is just one staff member, and they have no answers or solutions… There is no clarity…” she stated. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed airlines, especially IndiGo, to implement measures immediately to resolve the severe disruption to flight schedules and stabilise services without delay, an official statement said. Two orders have been issued to address problems faced by the public and restore service stability, especially on IndiGo. The order said, “It is expected: All flight schedules would stabilise and begin returning to normal midnight tonight; Full services and stability should return over the next couple of days; Passengers can track delays, if any, from home through information system installed by IndiGo and others; In the event of flight cancellation IndiGo will ensure automatic full refund for tickets.” “If passengers are stranded, they will be put up at hotels where accommodation has been booked by airlines. Special measures have been taken to ensure senior citizens are not discomfited in any manner. They will be provided with lounge access; Passengers of delayed flights will be provided with refreshments and other necessities; A 24×7 control room at the Ministry of Civil Aviation is constantly monitoring the situation on a time basis,” the order further read. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that the Central Government is fully alert to the woes of air passengers and is in constant consultation with all stakeholders. “Every possible measure, including rule exemptions as announced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday, will be taken to restore schedules and ensure stability to mitigate the public’s woes,” the statement added. (ANI)
