Widespread delays and cancellations of IndiGo flights have sparked passenger fury across Indian airports, but a viral social media post is calling for empathy towards airline staff caught in the crossfire. The post, which has garnered nearly one lakh views, offers a starkly different perspective on the unfolding chaos.
Viral Appeal for Civility at Bengaluru Airport
A user on X (formerly Twitter) described witnessing "grown adults throw toddler-level tantrums" at the Bengaluru airport gate for an IndiGo flight to Goa. The user strongly criticised passengers for shouting at young ground staff members, reminding travellers that budget airlines cannot control external factors like weather, Air Traffic Control (ATC) delays, or mandatory pilot rest rules mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
"That 22-year-old ground staff member you are abusing isn't hiding the plane in her pocket. You booked a budget airline, not a private jet. Sit down," the user wrote in the now-viral thread. The message urged travellers to stop treating service workers as "personal punching bags" for operational failures beyond their control, concluding, "I’d rather arrive in Goa 2 hours late than never arrive at all."
Social Media Divided: 'Educated Fools' vs. Paid Service Demands
The post triggered a fierce debate online. In one reply, the original poster labelled aggressive passengers as 'padhe likhe gawaar' or educated fools. While many users agreed that misdirected rage at frontline staff was unacceptable, others pushed back strongly.
A significant number of commenters refused to accept the 'budget airline' defence, demanding efficiency for a paid service. "Wild how grown people lose it over a delay. Flight rage is always louder than the logic," one user noted, capturing the sentiment of those supporting the staff. Another pointed out, "Flight delays expose a universal bias: people blame the nearest human, not the actual system. And, aviation is 99% system."
Root of the Chaos: A Perfect Storm of Disruptions
The passenger frustration stems from a major operational meltdown at IndiGo. Since December 2, the airline has cancelled over 600 flights, disrupting the travel plans of nearly 30,000 passengers. The carrier's on-time performance has been severely hit by a combination of factors.
IndiGo's CEO, Pieter Elbers, acknowledged the difficulties in an email, stating the airline had publicly apologised for failing to deliver on its service promise. The airline has cited new DGCA duty-time rules for pilots, technical glitches in crew rostering software, staff shortages, adverse weather conditions, and persistent ATC delays as the core reasons behind the crisis. IndiGo has assured travellers that it expects operations to stabilise fully by February 10.
Meanwhile, affected passengers continue to face long waits at airports and soaring last-minute airfares, with several instances of protests reported over alleged poor customer support during the disruptions.
