A nationwide air travel disruption, spearheaded by massive cancellations and delays from budget carrier IndiGo, turned terminals into scenes of frustration and exhaustion, with football champions Mumbai City FC's journey becoming a symbol of the crisis.
From Champions to Stranded Passengers: A Football Team's Test
The scale of the disruption was starkly illustrated by the ordeal of Indian Super League (ISL) champions Mumbai City FC. The team, aiming to compete in the Super Cup semi-finals, endured a marathon wait after their Wednesday afternoon flight from Mumbai to Goa was cancelled. They finally reached their destination on Thursday morning after spending nearly ten hours on plastic chairs at the airport, dealing with endless queues and operational chaos that severely tested their pre-match focus. The club took to social media to highlight the team's patience and solidarity during the grueling delay.
A Nation Gripped by Airport Chaos and Sky-High Fares
The footballers were far from alone in their plight. The meltdown was widespread, affecting major cities across the country. In Goa alone, at least 14 IndiGo flights were cancelled and over 25 were delayed. Airports in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar saw terminals overflowing with stranded passengers as rescheduled departures collapsed without prior warning.
As cancellations mounted, airfares for remaining seats skyrocketed to astonishing, often international, levels. The situation turned financially punishing for desperate travelers.
- One-way economy tickets from Kolkata to Bengaluru surged to between Rs 21,000 and an incredible Rs 1 lakh.
- Same-day fares from Mumbai to Delhi touched Rs 23,000.
- Kolkata to Delhi fares rose to a range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 84,000.
"A round trip to the UK costs around Rs 80,000. People paid nearly that for a one-way domestic ticket," said Anjani Dhanuka of the Travel Agents Association of India, putting the crisis in perspective.
Personal Tragedies and Mounting Anger
Behind the statistics were countless stories of personal hardship and institutional failure. Gopan Nair, stuck at Mumbai airport's boarding gate after a four-hour delay, had paid Rs 40,000 for two one-way tickets to Trivandrum after his mother-in-law passed away. "The funeral was postponed so we could attend, but we're stuck here," he said.
Communication from the airline was a major point of contention. MBA student Nishita Chowdhury in Kolkata learned her Mumbai flight was cancelled only after reaching the airport, a day before an important exam. Avik Sarkar, flying from Bengaluru to Kolkata to connect to Arunachal Pradesh, had his flight cancelled mid-evening. "The rebooking link didn't work. I had to pay Rs 24,000 for a new ticket. Now I may miss my next connection," he lamented.
The chaos extended to baggage handling as well. Rakesh Rastogi landed in Kolkata after a 14-hour delay only to find his bags still in Delhi. "We came for a wedding. We arrived without our clothes," he said. Tensions rose so high at terminals that CISF reinforcements were called in at some locations.
In Pune, 19 delayed and 11 grounded aircraft occupied most parking bays, with some passengers trapped inside planes for up to five hours after landing. "The captain said even ATC had no clue when we would deboard," recounted passenger Megh Gandhi. In Lucknow, angry passengers shouted slogans against IndiGo, with traveler Dhruv Choudhary summarizing the sentiment online: "No updates, no communication, no responsibility."
The scene was repeated in Chennai, where advocate Brahma Puthran described people sitting on the floor with no proper communication after his Kochi-bound flight was pushed back by hours. In Guwahati, passengers bound for Aizawl were told no flights were available for two days, with promises of refunds but no offer of food or hotel accommodation.
As the travel nightmare unfolded, some tried to use humor to cope with the situation. One stranded passenger posted, "Getting a flight to Mumbai this weekend is like finding a last-minute Coldplay ticket," a wry comment on the near-impossible task faced by thousands across the country.
