NEW DELHI: "I am usually a person who can handle high-pressure situations, but the last 48 hours were like a nightmare to me; I literally had a panic attack," said Aikantik Bag, who was travelling from Lucknow to Kolkata on Wednesday night.
Aikantik is not the only person to face this uncertainty; hundreds of other passengers travelling by the Indigo flights have faced cancellations over the past week, some even at the last minute. Many have still not been able to trace their check-in luggage, while many await their refunds.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Saturday stepped in and ordered IndiGo Airlines to clear all pending passenger refunds by 8pm on Sunday. The directive came with a stern warning that failure to comply will result in “immediate regulatory action”. Additionally, the ministry has directed the airline to ensure that all the baggage separated from the passengers due to cancellations or delays is traced and delivered to their residential or chosen address within the next 48 hours.
However, many passengers have reported issues of no refund and luggage not reaching even after all the formalities.
“Even after submitting my flight details on the refund portal of IndiGo, no option of refund is visible,” says Aikantik. He further said, “I had completed my check-in for that flight, and it got cancelled.
Also, the option for a refund shows as disabled on my end. Two of my checked-in pieces of luggage are still untraceable,” he added. Dr Shaarique, who was supposed to travel on an IndiGo flight from Bangalore to Pune on Saturday, received a message regarding the cancellation at 1 am on Friday night. “No refund has been issued yet, but I have received an email saying that it will be processed in a few days,” he said.
Many people have taken to social media slamming the airline for the situation. Some of them have also claimed that they got a message a night before their flight regarding a cancellation but received another message the next day saying that their flight is ready for departure and information on the gate number as well. Frustrated passengers have raised questions on social media about whether this is a scam so that the airline doesn’t have to issue a refund.
Meanwhile, the ministry stepped in on Saturday to curb the unusually high airfares charged by certain airlines during the ongoing operational chaos at IndiGo. According to the directive, the airfare has been limited to `7,500 for up to 500 km; `12,000 for 500-1,000 km; `15,000 for 1,000-1,500 km; and `18,000 for over 1,500 km.
However, even though the majority of flights are now reflecting normal rates on different routes, many are still showing exorbitant fares. Some Air India flights from Delhi to Bengaluru for December 10 show a price of around `37,000, which is much above the limits that have been placed.
Talking about a similar situation, Ayantika Pal, who has recently cancelled her parents’ flight from Kolkata to Delhi with IndiGo and booked it with Air India, said, “I thankfully paid 7k per person for the same.” However, she said, “SpiceJet flights on the same route showed me a price of around `40,000 for December 21.”