PATNA, Dec. 11 -- The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday announced that it would extend all possible assistance to passengers stranded due to IndiGo's ongoing operational disruptions, which officials expect to stabilise by December 15. For the ninth straight day, IndiGo cancelled multiple flights, including five pairs operating to and from Patna. The cancellations affected services from Kolkata (6E 713/6E 663), Bengaluru (6E 6451/6E 6452), Hyderabad (6E 915/6E 6683), Delhi (6E 6549/6E 6550) and Chennai (6E 678/6E 679). "If IndiGo fails to provide amenities, AAI will step in to offer every possible facility, including meals, to stranded passengers," said Patna airport director CP Dwivedi. The AAI's move follows a directive from its chairman, who held an online meeting with airport directors across the country earlier in the day. Acting on these instructions, Dwivedi met passengers at Patna airport, gathered feedback and later shared the updates on X. "Passengers are satisfied with the arrangements. The situation is improving, and cancellations have reduced. According to IndiGo's website, we expect normal operations from December 15. Passengers should also receive full refunds for cancellations between December 5 and 15," he said. Neither Dwivedi nor IndiGo's station manager Shalini provided data on the number of affected passengers, refunds issued, or total cancellations of flights and passenger tickets from Patna over the past nine days. IndiGo operates 25-26 departures daily from the airport. To bolster support during the crisis, a centralised control room comprising AAI representatives and a railways help desk has been set up inside the terminal manager's office. "This will serve as the primary support hub during disruptions, ensuring quicker decisions and better interdepartmental coordination," Dwivedi said. Additional seating has been arranged in the check-in area of the new integrated terminal. The airport has also deployed extra staff for maintaining washrooms, while food and beverage outlets have been instructed to stock adequate supplies. Flight updates are being posted promptly on Patna airport's official X handle, and a 24x7 helpline (9471000714) has been activated for passenger support. Meanwhile, a bomb threat mock exercise was successfully conducted at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport from 3.39 pm to 4.45 pm to assess the efficacy of its contingency plans. The drill evaluated the coordination among the Airport Security Group, local police, airport operator and other stakeholders, the AAI said in a communique....