Indigo crisis: cancellations leave passengers high and Dry
CHENNAI: Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at Chennai International Airport on Friday after IndiGo cancelled all its flights departing from the T1 terminal, triggering confusion, frayed tempers and soaring travel costs. Crowds, many sleepless, hungry and dehydrated, gathered outside IndiGos counters. According to officials, all services to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad scheduled before 6 pm were cancelled. With seats scarce on other carriers, fares surged dramatically, in some cases more than fivefold, leaving many stranded both physically and financially. The prices are astronomical between Rs 35,000 and Rs 50,000 for a ticket to Mumbai, said Prabhans, a traveller from Delhi who had flown to Chennai for a US visa interview. Travelling without luggage as per consulate rules, he found his return flight cancelled. I tried to book other airlines, but dynamic pricing pushed fares beyond Rs 35,000, he added. Fares on competing carriers climbed steadily. A SpiceJet ticket to Mumbai crossed Rs 50,000, while Bengaluru-bound trips touched Rs 25,000. Hyderabad-bound fares approached Rs 50,000. Several airline counters were closed early, displaying full signs. For some, the disruption had more severe consequences. Acharya (70), travelling with his family, lost his flight to Bengaluru, and missed his connecting Qantas service to Sydney. Now we have to wait four days before we can even think of travelling, he said. Nearby, Shirundu Mazumdar and his wife, Seema, sat huddled against a wall after a medical trip to Chennai. Their flight to Bagdogra was cancelled after their bags had been checked in. We left home at 6 am and only found out here. There are no arrangements, not even water, Seema said. Among those affected was Reeta Kumari (55) from Varanasi, returning from a pilgrimage to Madurai. She discovered her onward flights to Bengaluru and Varanasi had been cancelled only after landing. A group of 50 students from a Hyderabad on a field trip to Puducherry sat on the floor under the supervision of a teacher. We were not informed that the flight was cancelled, their teacher said. (With inputs from B Anbuselvan @ Chennai)
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