HYDERABAD: IndiGo cancelled 18 Hyderabad flights scheduled for Thursday, following 40 cancellations on Wednesday — 19 departures and 21 arrivals — while delays continued to cause chaos for its passengers. The airline attributed the continuing disruptions to operational issues and cabin crew shortages.
On Wednesday hundreds of passengers were forced to wait for hours with limited information on revised timings. Multiple IndiGo flights, and a few operated by other carriers, were either heavily delayed or cancelled, leading to tense exchanges with ground staff.
Passengers travelling for business appointments confronted employees, while a group of Ayyappa devotees staged brief demonstrations inside the terminal, worried they would miss their pre-booked darshan slots at Sabarimala. Airport officials said the disruptions began late Tuesday and continued to affect schedules through December 3.
Cancellations and diversions
Wednesday’s cancellations included flights such as 6E 6286 (Visakhapatnam), 6E 206 (Goa), 6E 6337 (Ahmedabad), 6E 2255 (Delhi), 6E 6360 (Bengaluru), 6E 295 (Chennai) and 6E 6092 (Madurai). Scrapped arrivals included 6E 886 (Bengaluru), 6E 7416 (Hubballi), 6E 247 (Delhi), 6E 7122 (Bhopal) and 6E 631 (Bhubaneswar). Outbound cancellations affected routes to Delhi, Bengaluru, Hubballi, Bhubaneswar and Bhopal.
On December 2, two incoming flights — XY325 from Riyadh and 6E 352 from Pune — were diverted due to low visibility. Many December 2 services departed only on December 3 because of the resultant backlog, according to an IndiGo staffer. Cancellations on that day covered services to and from Raipur, Coimbatore, Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Goa.
Several passengers said confusion grew as boarding times were repeatedly revised before flights were eventually cancelled. Many complained of no accommodation or responsive customer support despite long delays.
Arpit Joshi, booked on 6E 377 to Indore, said his flight was delayed by nearly 12 hours. “At this point, I would have reached home faster by train or even by bus,” he said.
Saginela Ravindra Babu posted on X that he had paid `8,000 for a Mumbai–Hyderabad ticket but ended up sleeping on the airport floor after hours of waiting. His flight, 6E 6397, originally scheduled for 12.20 pm, was pushed to 9.25 pm. “Worst airline ever. No response, no accountability,” he wrote.
RGIA issued an advisory urging passengers to check updated flight timings with their airlines before heading to the airport. “Our teams are working closely with the airlines to assist passengers with timely information and guidance. Operations at RGIA remain normal,” the operator said.