NEW DELHI: Scenes of chaos unfolded across all three terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Friday as IndiGo cancelled all its domestic flights for a 24-hour period. IndiGo, India’s largest domestic airline, operates around 235 flights daily from Delhi alone.
Of these, nearly 150 flights operate from Terminal 1, about 50 from Terminal 2, and the remaining from Terminal 3.
The cancellation came into effect from 12 midnight on Thursday and will remain in force until 11.59 pm on Friday. Chennai airport has also announced the suspension of IndiGo’s domestic operations till 6 pm on Friday. Hundreds of passengers were seen agitating near the airline’s counters, expressing anger and frustration over the sudden disruption. Many raised slogans against the airline, demanding immediate solutions for their travel plans.
“The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which manages airport security, has deployed its entire reserve platoon to control the situation. Leaves of all CISF personnel have also been cancelled,” a source said.
The airline has been directed to open more counters and deploy additional staff to address passenger grievances. A large number of stranded passengers crowded the counters of Air India, Air India Express and SpiceJet in an attempt to secure alternate flights.
However, many travellers wanting to return home were left stuck at the airport due to a huge backlog of cancellations.
“Baggage of hundreds of passengers is still stuck and many are trying to collect it before leaving,” an airport official said, adding that retrieval was taking place slowly across the belts. Other major airports were also affected, with more than 100 flights cancelled in Bengaluru and over 90 flights cancelled in Hyderabad.