Chennai:
The atmosphere at the Chennai airport was filled not with excitement, but with confusion, stress, and helplessness as near total IndiGo flight cancellations left passengers stranded for the third day. It became worse today as CISF stopped the entry of IndiGo passengers into the airport. People who had planned vacations, urgent travel, and important commitments suddenly found themselves without answers and without options.
Among the affected passengers was a couple travelling to Durgapur. The wife, a government employee working for the IIT, was supposed to join duty yesterday. But due to the cancellation, she missed her joining date. With a young child, the situation became even more stressful.
She told NDTV, “There was no proper communication. They told us earlier that if the flight gets cancelled, we will arrange another option. But now they are saying there is no alternative. We have no option because only IndiGo flies here.”
The chaos did not stop there. Two young skating champs from Trivandrum, both national medallists, have been stuck in Chennai since last night. They were supposed to go to Vizag to participate in a National-level event. They had practised for nearly a year, preparing day and night for this moment. But after the cancellation, they had no choice but to book a cab to Vizag – a journey of 15 hours, 850 KM by road.
Their parents, exhausted and upset, said many passengers weren’t offered anything to eat or drink by the airline.
The long wait, lack of guidance, and the pressure of reaching the venue took a heavy emotional toll. “We may just reach an hour before the event starts,” said their dad. He added that the event organisers had postponed the competition to the next day because of the crisis. Another mom said, “I am taking my Skater daughter by bus to Vizag”.
Not far away, waiting with his heavy baggage is Arun, a student from SRM University, Chennai, who had to fly back to Muscat to join his family for vacation. He was initially told his flight was scheduled for December 4th, but later officials said it was on December 5th. When he finally arrived at the airport this morning, he was told his flight had been cancelled. His parents finally put him on another airline, paying a heavy price. Frustrated, he said, “Everyone here is suffering”. The biggest problem is the lack of proper communication. They didn’t inform anyone on time”.
While this afternoon, the Director General of Civil Aviation decided to relax the new norms for IndiGo, which has failed to actively address the issue, passengers who went through the nightmare may still take a few more days for flight schedules to return to normal. However, many say both IndiGo and the Civil Aviation Ministry ought to be held accountable for this mess.
(With inputs from Abinaya Kumarasamy)
