BHUBANESWAR: With IndiGo’s nationwide crisis entering the fourth day on Friday, flight operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar were severely affected, with mass cancellations and delays.
BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan said 24 flights were cancelled on Friday and over 40 were delayed. Some of the flights whose departure was cancelled from BPIA included Hyderabad, Patna and Mumbai. An international flight to Indonesia was also cancelled.
IndiGo operates about 34 arrivals and as many departures from BPIA on an average everyday. The crisis has resulted in thousands of passengers being stranded in the capital city, leaving them with no immediate alternatives.
The disruption has also led to unusual situations like a wedding reception being held at Huballi in Karnataka with the newlywed couple joining the event via online video call from Bhubaneswar as their flight was cancelled and they could not find any other way to reach there.
While the groom hails from Bhubaneswar, the bride is a native of Hubballi.
Amid massive flight cancellations, the passengers were also compelled to board trains and buses to reach their destinations. “I was supposed to board a flight along with my child to Hyderabad on Friday and then travel to Germany the next day. After receiving confirmation about the flight at about 3 am, the airlines informed in the wee hours that it was cancelled,” said a woman passenger.
“The airlines staff provided two options - to refund the ticket fare or reschedule my flight. However, they did not provide any information about the timings of my next flight. I cannot take the risk to miss my international flight and am now planning to reach Hyderabad by either boarding a bus or train,” she added.
Odisha’s rugby and roll ball team players who were supposed to travel to Guwahati to participate in Khelo India zonal Asmita league were also left stranded at the city airport on the day after their flight was cancelled.
Meanwhile, BPIA issued a helpline number +91 82807 49239 for the passengers to ensure seamless coordination and timely updates. A dedicated operations control room has been set up at Bhubaneswar airport. All real-time information on delayed and cancelled flights will now be monitored and shared proactively, said BPIA on its X handle.