Flight delay turns into 2-day ordeal for over 200 IndiGo passengers

Passengers enraged as IndiGo cancels late-night flight from Almaty to Delhi, stranding over 200 of them at airport overnight, only for the rescheduled flight to get delayed too

More than 200 passengers who were about to travel to New Delhi from Almaty, Kazakhstan, by IndiGo flight P6E1802 were stranded at the foreign airport after the airline cancelled the late-night flight on April 12. 

The flyers, including senior citizens, checked in on Friday evening, in time for the scheduled take-off at 12.50 am, only to learn that it had been cancelled and they would have to wait another 18 hours to take the rescheduled flight at 7 pm on Saturday.

This second flight, too, was delayed by over two hours, finally taking off at 9.20 pm local time (or 9.50 pm IST). 

At 7.50 pm, the passengers were informed that the airline was preparing extra fuel in anticipation of delay at New Delhi airport. A passenger who spoke to mid-day at 9 pm IST last night, said IndiGo was still waiting for a clearance signature from an Air Astana engineer. Air Astana is the flag carrier of Kazakhstan. Passengers also alleged that no official communication was made by Pilot Captain Aakash Agarwal, Co-pilot Akshay Gupta, or the flight crew while they were stuck inside the aircraft for over two hours. 

Throughout, alleged  passengers, there was no clear and timely communication from the airlines. After the first flight was cancelled, they were stranded at the airport for several hours before they were shifted to a hotel. They alleged that IndiGo paid for the hotel accommodation but no food or beverage was served to stranded passengers at the airport either on Friday or Saturday. When passengers demanded food inside the aircraft during the delay, the crew allegedly told them that they should have pre-booked the meal.

One of the passengers, Prajakta Samant, said that on Friday night, there was no communication about the delay. She added that they only got notifications from the airline via text and emails from 1.35 am onwards. “At 3.45 am, IndiGo staff informed us that there was some issue with the aircraft tyre. Then we were told that the pilots were too exhausted to fly. At 4.15 am, after making us wait at the airport for several hours, they informed us that the flight had been rescheduled for 7 pm,” Samant recalled.

Another passenger said, “At 5.15 am, we exited the airport. We had to haul our luggage for 300 meters and load it on the bus to the hotel.”

Rashida Naim Ghiya, 70, told mid-day, “As a senior citizen, it was traumatic having to carry the luggage.” 

Fellow flyer Karan Verma said, “The airlines is completely at fault. Another big problem was the language barrier, as none of the ground staff were fluent in English.”
One flyer pointed out that if the incoming flight was delayed due to weather conditions in Delhi, and its crew’s shift was close to ending, the airline should have sent a replacement crew. “Should over 200 people be left hanging for 20 hours amid uncertainty over when they will get home? We were awake all of last night, and probably will be tonight too, as we will land at 10.30pm and then struggle to find onward flights and trains to our home cities,” said Samant.

1.50 am
Scheduled take-off time (local time)

7 pm
Rescheduled time

9.20 pm 
Actual take-off time

The airline says… 

“The incoming aircraft scheduled to operate Flight 6E 1802 from Almaty to Delhi was delayed due to prevailing weather conditions, which subsequently triggered flight duty time limitations for our crew. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate our passengers’ understanding of the challenge beyond our control. IndiGo had made necessary arrangements to offer refreshments and accommodation to customers, as needed,” said IndiGo in a statement.

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