The travel crisis at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport deepened on Saturday, with no immediate relief for thousands of passengers. Widespread flight cancellations and persistent delays continued to wreak havoc on travel plans, leaving terminals crowded and flyers frustrated.
Mass Cancellations and Delays Paralyze Operations
By 6 PM on Saturday, the situation remained critical with a total of 69 IndiGo flights being cancelled. This included 38 departures and 31 arrivals. The ripple effect of these disruptions was felt across a wide network of routes. Until the evening, 17 flights were delayed, impacting travel to and from multiple cities including Bhopal, Nagpur, Chennai, Jodhpur, Hyderabad, Jammu, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Keshod, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Jeddah, and Pune.
Airport authorities described the scenario as fluid, with on-ground teams working tirelessly to manage the overwhelming passenger flow, handle rebooking requests, and address rising tempers. Hundreds of travellers found themselves stranded or rerouted, with some making desperate attempts to find last-minute alternatives for urgent journeys.
Airport and Airline Scramble to Manage Passenger Chaos
In response to the swelling crowds and heightened anxiety, the airport operator implemented several additional measures. A source revealed that extra seating was arranged along the kerbside area to accommodate the large number of stranded passengers. Simultaneously, IndiGo set up two temporary help desks outside Terminal 1 specifically to assist with rebooking queries and baggage-related claims.
These desks were positioned in addition to the existing airline ticketing counters in an effort to keep congestion inside the terminal building under control. Despite these steps, queues for refunds, rescheduling, and missing baggage continued to grow longer throughout the day.
Passenger Anxiety and a Heartwarming Gesture
The uncertainty has also affected passengers with upcoming travel. Senior citizen Samir Bose, who is scheduled to fly from Kolkata to Ahmedabad on Tuesday with his wife, expressed his confusion and worry. "Our flight is on time as per the current status. But with the uncertainty around operations due to major cancellations across India, we are confused and worried about how to plan our travel," he said.
Many flyers complained about receiving last-minute updates and repeated schedule revisions, which only added to the terminal chaos. Amidst the turmoil, a heartwarming incident stood out. Airport staff rushed to assist Zubeida, an elderly passenger battling cancer, who missed her flight due to the disruptions. In an emotional audio message, Zubeida expressed gratitude, stating, "I am grateful for how the airport official offered to help, picked up my luggage, and then booked me an alternate flight to Jammu."
Path to Normalcy and Passenger Advisory
Airport sources confirmed they are working closely with airline ground teams to stabilize flight schedules, but warned that a return to normalcy might take some time. An IndiGo spokesperson addressed the network disruptions, stating, "Addressing the recent disruptions in our network, we cancelled a significant number of flights and operated a little above 700 flights connecting 113 destinations yesterday. Today, we are on our way to operating over 1,500 flights by the end of the day."
The spokesperson added that over 95% of network connectivity has been re-established, with operations restored to 135 of their 138 destinations. Passengers are strongly advised to check their flight status frequently and arrive at the airport well in advance, as processing times and queues remain significantly longer than usual.
