Hundreds of passengers at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport faced chaos on Friday as IndiGo cancelled flights until midnight, forcing many to seek trains, taxis, or hotels amid skyrocketing airfares. Frustrated travellers queued for hours at reservation counters, with some opting for road travel over exorbitant alternatives. SpiceJet's addition of 100 flights offered some relief by lowering fares.
On Friday, December 6, passengers at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi scrambled for alternatives after IndiGo cancelled departures until midnight, leading to long queues and widespread frustration at the airline's counters in Terminals 1 and 2.
Around 300-400 people lined up at Terminal 1's IndiGo reservation counter, with security staff struggling to manage the crowd. Many reported not receiving cancellation notices; instead, they saw 'on-time' statuses and even 'Welcome on board' messages. Asiya Mehraj, 42, heading to Kolkata, said, 'The airline is rescheduling according to its own convenience. We were not informed about the cancellation until we reached the airport. My flight was at 4 pm, and at 10:30 am I got a message from IndiGo saying, “Welcome on board.”'
Archana Bajaj, 43, who had visited her husband in Delhi for a medical check-up, worried about her 18-year-old son at home: 'Since flights were getting canceled over the last few days, I inquired with the airline yesterday and again this morning, but they denied any further cancellations.' Riya Agrawal, 27, bound for Bhubaneswar after attending a friend's wedding, added, 'This is a huge crisis now, but nobody is giving us the correct information. I need a refund because flight tickets are no joke.' One passenger lamented, 'Mujhe nahi lagta hai aaj number aayega' (I don’t think my turn will come today), while another faced a 16-17 hour layover despite reaching the counter.
Airfares surged due to demand: a Delhi-Mumbai ticket reached Rs 48,000, Delhi-Goa Rs 76,863 on Air India, and Delhi-Bengaluru Rs 48,463 on Akasa Air. Trains had long waiting lists, pushing some towards road options. A woman from Abu Dhabi, travelling with her two-year-old after a Bihar visit, decided on a train home. A group of 80 on a corporate trip from Bengaluru to Azerbaijan considered hotels or a two-day bus ride, with manager Gautham Shetty saying, 'We’ll most probably book a few hotels… If nothing works out, we’ll take a bus.' Three passengers shared a Rs 30,000 taxi to Mumbai, at Rs 10,000 each.
IndiGo rescheduled flights starting Monday, December 8. SpiceJet's 100 additional flights that evening caused its fares to plummet, providing respite. Passengers couldn't easily switch to other airlines, as most were overbooked.