What should have been a brief late-night hop turned into a grueling all-night saga for passengers aboard an IndiGo flight connecting Pune to Bengaluru. The journey, scheduled to last just over an hour, stretched to an exhausting eight hours, leaving flyers frustrated and fatigued.
A Promising Start Turns Sour
IndiGo flight 6E-361 was supposed to depart from Pune Airport at 1:30 AM on Tuesday and land in Bengaluru by 2:40 AM. For Katraj resident Vishwajeet K and approximately 150 other passengers, the trouble began even before they could board. After clearing security on Monday night, the first delay announcement came at 12:45 AM, informing them of a one-hour postponement.
The frustration among travelers grew steadily as the airline provided hourly updates without offering a clear or consistent reason for the mounting delays. The lack of transparent communication from the airline staff became a major point of contention for the waiting passengers.
Boarding, Deboarding, and More Waiting
The situation escalated into a physical ordeal when passengers were put through the tedious process of boarding and then deboarding not one, but two separate aircraft. After waiting for nearly five hours, Vishwajeet and others demanded concrete answers from the airline personnel.
"We were told that Delhi's weather is bad," Vishwajeet recounted. "I thought the flight was coming from Delhi to Pune and would then fly to Bengaluru. But then I saw many flights of other airlines taking off from Pune to Delhi," he said, questioning the explanation given.
An airline source later clarified to the Times of India that the delay was due to the impact of bad weather in Delhi on the incoming aircraft. The aircraft for the Pune-Bengaluru sector was reportedly coming from Goa.
A Bumpy Journey to a Final Takeoff
Passengers finally boarded a plane around 6:00 AM, but the relief was short-lived. They remained seated inside the aircraft for about an hour before the crew asked them to deboard once again. This repeated cycle of boarding and deboarding added to the passengers' exhaustion and annoyance.
The final boarding happened on a different aircraft at approximately 7:50 AM. This time, the plane took off and managed to land in Bengaluru at 9:15 AM on Tuesday, marking the end of an incredibly prolonged and stressful travel experience.
While the Times of India contacted an IndiGo spokesperson for an official comment, the airline did not release a formal statement regarding the incident. The episode highlights the significant disruption and passenger distress caused by operational delays and communication gaps in domestic air travel.
