Day 4 & counting: 34 IndiGo flights cancelled at Chandigarh airport
Mohali, Dec. 6 -- With the IndiGo turmoil entering its fourth day on Friday, 34 flights, including departures and arrivals, were cancelled at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Mohali, leaving passengers stranded, frustrated and scrambling for last-minute alternatives. In all, 54 flights were scheduled for the day as per airport data. The airline has already announced the cancellation of 10 flights on Saturday (see box).
Alongside the cancellations, 18 flights were delayed. Some other flights were yet to take off or land at the time of filing the report.
The maximum delay was reported on the Chandigarh-Indore flight, which was delayed by nine hours.
Several passengers alleged that the cancellations were updated only shortly before departure time, forcing them to remain at the airport for hours with no clarity about rescheduling or refunds. Many were seen waiting in long queues, seeking alternate bookings, while others opted to cancel trips altogether.
Kuldeep Singh, a city based resident, said, "I work as a professor in one of the universities in Bangalore. I had come home for the holidays. I am supposed to resume my work tomorrow but now I am stranded here, having no clue as to when I will reach the city. The airline has poor communication and inadequate assistance at the terminal. We are left with no alternatives."
The Chandigarh-Pune flight, scheduled to depart at 9.15pm on Thursday, finally took off at 7.50am on Friday, forcing passengers to spend the night at the airport.
Meanwhile, amid IndiGo's delays and cancellations, the fares of other airlines surged due to limited seat availability.
For Friday evening, an Alliance Air flight from Chandigarh to Delhi, scheduled to depart at 5.50pm, was priced at Rs.9,500. An Air India flight on the same route, with a scheduled departure at 6.40 pm, cost Rs.16,000. On routine days, an IndiGo one-way ticket to the route usually ranges between Rs.2,500 and Rs.4,000.
Travel to other cities has also become a costly affair. A Chandigarh to Bengaluru ticket on December 6 (Saturday) showed an astonishing Rs.65,000 for a single seat on Air India. Similarly, passengers headed to Mumbai from Chandigarh on the same date are being quoted fares around Rs.43,000 for a one-way booking. Chandigarh-based travel agent Manjit Singh said, "With IndiGo being the largest carrier of domestic flights, other airlines are now surging the prices, at least for another two-three days. As of now, the fares look reasonable from Monday but looking at the situation, the prices may go up further in a few hours," he added....
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