Foreign passenger climbs on IndiGo counter at Mumbai airport, yells as her flight gets cancelled. Video

Two airline employees attempted to calm her, repeatedly asking her to step down for her own safety.

IndiGo’s continuing operational troubles triggered further frustration at major airports on Friday, after a video from Mumbai airport showing a foreign passenger climbing onto the airline’s counter and shouting at staff gained wide attention online. The incident unfolded as the carrier faced one of its worst periods of disruption in recent years, with hundreds of flights cancelled and passengers left waiting for hours without information.

The woman, identified by social media users as being of African origin, became visibly distressed after learning that her IndiGo flight had been cancelled. In the footage, she stepped onto the counter, leaned against a glass partition and raised her voice at ground staff while demanding an explanation. Two airline employees attempted to calm her, repeatedly asking her to step down for her own safety. Passengers gathered around the counter as the situation escalated. The video was shared on Instagram by user @vishalpatel.vj, captioned: “Indigo delays and Passenger relays.”

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Reactions to the video ranged from criticism to sympathy. One viewer wrote: “Public needs to understand that it is not the ground staff’s fault when a flight gets cancelled. Ground staff are only representatives of the airline. They do not make operational decisions. Incidents where people throw water or misbehave with staff are unacceptable. The real responsibility lies with the airline’s top management, including the CEO, who failed to take timely action even after DGCA gave them notice a year ago.”

Another user defended her, saying: “She must really be going through something and the flight meant something to her. Cancellation of the flight might have been something hard for her to accept, I feel her pain.”

Some users said her anger was understandable given the wider disruption. One comment read: “Indigo airline always do this delay in flights, and because of this, the lady missed her international connecting flight. She has every right to be frustrated. When we travel internationally, connecting flights can cost more money, so IndiGo should take responsibility and provide compensation. This situation is not fair.”

Another Instagram user claimed the woman had been speaking in French and had explained that she was abandoning her journey altogether. The translated comment stated: “I’m going back to my country. I’m returning because you ruined my ticket. So I’m going back to France. I’m returning to France. I’m going back to my country. They ruined everything. They spoiled everything. When they mess things up, they expect people to just deal with it. They want to keep people occupied. There’s nothing to eat, nowhere to sleep. I’m leaving and going back — this is what she said.”

The video surfaced as IndiGo struggled to stabilise operations. More than 500 flights were cancelled on Friday alone, following days of disruption linked to revised crew duty-time rules. Airports across the country saw long queues and widespread complaints, with travellers reporting difficulty obtaining updates or securing alternatives.