Pune's airport descended into chaos on Thursday morning as severe and persistent delays of IndiGo flights created a cascading effect, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers. The situation was exacerbated by a critical shortage of available parking bays, forcing many to remain confined inside their aircraft for several hours after landing, with the ripple effects impacting flights of other carriers as well.
Passengers Endure Hours-Long Ordeal on Tarmac
The core of the crisis was the limited infrastructure at the airport, which has only 10 aerobridges in total. As a majority of incoming flights arrived behind schedule, these bays were quickly occupied, leaving subsequent aircraft with nowhere to park. Flyer Sumit Kadam recounted his distressing experience, stating that his flight from Goa touched down in Pune at 5:30 AM, but he and fellow passengers were trapped onboard until 8:30 AM. "The cabin crew informed us there were no parking bays available. It was a pathetic situation, and we just kept sitting," he said.
Another traveler, Megh Gandhi, faced a similar plight. His flight from Ahmedabad landed late at around 4:30 AM. "The captain clearly stated he had no clue when deboarding would happen. He added that even the Air Traffic Control (ATC) was not providing proper information," Gandhi explained. They finally managed to exit the aircraft at approximately 7:45 AM.
Domino Effect on Departures and Other Airlines
The disruptions were not limited to arrivals. A passenger scheduled to travel to Kolkata in the early morning reported being left in the dark about his departure. "The flight was supposed to take off at 5 AM, and I had reached the airport at 1 AM. There is absolutely no clarity, and hundreds are just stuck," he lamented. The problem extended beyond IndiGo, affecting other operators. Umesh Gogate, who arrived on an Air India Express flight, took to social media platform X to report that flyers had been sitting in the aircraft for two hours due to the lack of parking space.
An international traveler also faced significant inconvenience. A passenger on an IndiGo flight from Bangkok that landed around 5:30 AM said they could only deboard by about 8 AM.
Awaiting Official Response and Systemic Strain
As of the reporting time, official comments from both IndiGo and the Pune airport authorities were still awaited. The incident highlights the severe strain on airport infrastructure during peak travel times or operational disruptions. The inordinate delays of a single major airline like IndiGo can have a domino effect, crippling the entire airport's schedule and causing widespread passenger distress. This event underscores the urgent need for infrastructure assessment and better contingency planning at key airports like Pune to handle such peak-hour crunches.
