A week of operational chaos for IndiGo's domestic services has dramatically reshaped how international travellers from Kolkata plan their journeys. Faced with multiple cancellations and last-minute rescheduling that left passengers stranded, a significant number of flyers have started bypassing traditional Indian connecting hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
Passengers Scramble for Reliable Options
The disruptions, which began in earnest around Wednesday, triggered a wave of uncertainty. Travellers, particularly those bound for long-haul destinations in Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia, found their carefully laid plans in disarray. Instead of enduring further domestic flight uncertainty, many chose to leave India on the first dependable international service available from Kolkata itself.
This often meant booking more expensive tickets with foreign carriers and transiting through hubs like Dubai, Doha, or Singapore. Archi Bagchi and Nilakshi Kotnis, who were headed to London, epitomised this shift. Their Kolkata-Bengaluru IndiGo connection was cancelled on Sunday, jeopardising their onward Air India flight to London from Bengaluru. After facing continued uncertainty, they abandoned their original itinerary and booked a new route with Emirates via Dubai.
"We realised there was no point travelling within the country to take an international flight now," Bagchi stated, capturing the sentiment of many frustrated passengers.
Gulf and Asian Carriers See Surge in Demand
The sudden change in passenger behaviour created an unexpected windfall for major international airlines. Travel agents across Kolkata reported a sharp spike in demand for direct international departures from the city, regardless of the final destination.
Gulf carriers such as Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways, along with Southeast Asian airlines like Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, emerged as clear beneficiaries. For travellers heading to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Korea, routing through Singapore or Bangkok became the preferred and more reliable alternative.
Debjit Dutta of Impression Tourism Services and state president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators confirmed the trend. "Dubai was always popular, but now the demand has grown even more," he noted, highlighting the scale of the shift.
A Case Study in Rerouting
One flyer's experience illustrates the extreme measures passengers were forced to take. Bound for Singapore with a connection in Delhi, he saw his Kolkata-Delhi flight cancelled on Saturday. To avoid further risk, he completely changed his route, flying to Bangkok on Sunday and then connecting to Singapore from there.
The week-long disruption has served as a stark reminder of the fragility of travel plans reliant on domestic connections for international trips. It has pushed cost-conscious travellers to prioritise reliability over price, at least in the short term, significantly altering booking patterns out of Eastern India.
