IndiGo, one of the country’s largest airlines, continued to face operational issues, leading to the cancellation of more than 500 flights today. The massive disruption to flights, now in its fourth day this week, has left passengers angry and helpless, with many venting their frustration on social media. Among them is Fintrekk Capital founder Amit Kumar Gupta, who shared how one of his distant relative’s weddings had to be postponed due to the ongoing IndiGo crisis.
In a detailed post, Gupta revealed that 48 guests had traveled from Delhi to Goa on the same IndiGo flight, which was repeatedly delayed and eventually cancelled.
Since most peak season bookings in Goa are non-refundable, the family was only issued a credit note valid for the next 24 months, he said. “The wedding has now been shifted to NCR next month due to lack of vacancies in December,” added Gupta.
Read also | IndiGo flight cancellations LIVE: Airline’s on-time performance today only 8.5%.
Gupta told Livemint that a family of relatives had booked a 5-star hotel for four nights, from Thursday to Sunday (Dec 4-7), around ₹35,000 per night. He added that the fees for conducting the event amount to ₹15–20 million was extra, bringing the estimated total cost to approx ₹16.4–21.4 million.
He called the situation “amazing” and criticized IndiGo for not anticipating the disruption and not notifying passengers in advance. He also expressed frustration at what he described as an “unnecessary investigation” by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), saying it would not prevent a huge loss of time, money and energy for thousands of affected passengers.
He urged the government to act swiftly, impose severe sanctions on IndiGo’s management and hand over operations to an independent professional team, alleging that the current management has “made a complete mess of the travel experience”.
He further warned that the airline’s operational cuts could also affect those without immediate travel plans, as reduced slots could push fares up sharply.
Read also | Singapore’s High Commissioner stranded when IndiGo flights from Delhi were cancelled
“This will affect everyone in the near future. Even those who don’t have a flight booked but are planning to use it in the next few months. Slots will be reduced, prices of existing flights will increase. The return Indigo flight I booked for Black Friday holiday on March 26th is now ~2x after just one week,” he wrote.
Here’s how social media users reacted:
The post drew mixed reactions on social media. Here’s how people responded:
One user tried to offer a positive perspective and wrote, “What if the flight crashes! Marriage is only postponed, not cancelled. Consider all the things that have happened for the good of the family. IndiGo and others are not doing well. This does not mean you should lose your cool and patience. Marriage requires a lifetime of patience and a cool attitude. It is a check on our reaction, an opportunity to see how we react to our reactions much more often. A mature response.
“I wish the new couple all the best. Things would be really beautiful for them as they are programmed to be the best. External disturbances should not warp their thinking or resilience. They are built to last, IndiGo is not! All the best.”
To this Gupta replied, “I hope you know that in peak season everything in Goa is irreversible.”
Another user, Pratik Agarwal, wrote: “I was traveling with my family and got to know that the flight is canceled 3 hours before the departure time. No one is answering the phone and they are not giving a refund because the link they shared is not working.”
Read also | IndiGo flight cancellations LIVE: Airline’s on-time performance today only 8.5%.
In a similar vein, a user named Ratan Mehta wrote, “My son’s wedding was on the 6th and they canceled the flight from Bangalore to Jodhpur on the 4th. We paid 20-30k for the next flight and many guests didn’t even get their tickets. These idiots must be punished for creating a problem. They know about the problem.”
Gupta replied: “Unfortunately, in that case, rebooking other flights was also extremely risky. The turnaround time was less than 24 hours and the situation will not improve for at least the next 7 days.”
Latest information on IndiGo crises
The airline has informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it expects operations to stabilize by February 10 and has sought a temporary relaxation of rules restricting night duty for pilots. After a meeting with IndiGo officials, the DGCA said the disruption stemmed from planning errors and miscalculations made during the rollout of phase 2 of the new flight duty time limitations (FDTL) for the crew. IndiGo admitted that its actual crew requirement was higher than originally planned. On Thursday, the airline issued a “heartfelt apology” to passengers and industry partners and assured them it was working swiftly to restore normal services across its network.
