A journalist shared her harrowing experience at Delhi airport last Saturday when she endured a last-minute flight cancellation and multiple delays by IndiGo, leaving her stranded for nearly 12 hours. Anubha Pandey was planning to travel from Delhi to Hyderabad for a family function and to spend Mother’s Day with her mother. She arrived at the Delhi airport at 9 am for a 10:40 am flight, only to discover at the luggage check-in that her flight had been cancelled.
She claimed she was told to go to the reservation counter to
reschedule or try choices. “I was shocked to see that there was no dedicated person handling passengers whose flight got cancelled,” Pandey said in a long note on X (formerly Twitter).
Despite another flight to Hyderabad at 12:20 pm, Pandey found that the only available ticket for that flight was being given to a passenger who missed his flight. When she questioned this, she faced insensitivity and arguments from IndiGo staff.
“That also meant no priority or precedence given to passengers whose flight gets cancelled due to whatsoever reason.” After much effort, Pandey managed to reschedule her tickets for a 5 pm flight but was dismayed by the meal provided by IndiGo during her six-hour wait. Apparently, IndiGo had offered two idlis and a wada as the food for the six-hour delay.
She expressed her disappointment at the lack of care and service from the airline.
The flight, scheduled for 5 pm, was then again delayed by 1.6 hours, causing further frustration for Pandey, who had been ready for her family function at the airport. Despite assurances of no further delays, the boarding gate was changed, and the flight was further delayed to 7:50 pm. The airline apparently stated that the delay in Delhi was due to a flight delay in Hyderabad.
“It felt like the big corps can play with us however they like, even after we are paying for the services,” she said.
Feeling exhausted and drained, Pandey decided to abandon her travel plans, realising that reaching Hyderabad at midnight with such a terrible experience was not worth it. She criticised IndiGo for its lack of empathy and the stress it caused her.
I wanted to sort and discuss this internally, but Indigo doesn't want me to. Indigo has given me a trauma that I'll remember for very long. The airlines has ruined my day, a family function and Mother's day for me and my mother, who was waiting for me in another city.
— Anubha Pandey (@in_finiteee) May 11, 2024
In response to her post, IndiGo offered a Rs 2,000 voucher as compensation. However, Pandey expressed her disillusionment with the airline and its offer, stating that she would never travel with IndiGo again.
IndiGo responded, acknowledging the inconvenience caused and mentioning that they had facilitated a full refund for her return flight, even though it was with a different airline.
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