Indigo flyer shares 12-hour trauma at Delhi airport after cancelled flight: 'Couldn't meet my mother'

Anubha Pandey, 26, said she was more hurt because she had the chance to meet her mother on Mother's Day, but couldn't due to Indigo's flight cancellations and delays. (Image credit: Moneycontrol)

Anubha Pandey had big plans for the Mother's Day weekend. The Gurgaon resident was going to fly to Hyderabad where her family had organised a big get-together to celebrate her nephew's birthday. For the 26-year-old journalist who lives away from her family, it was a weekend she was looking forward to for months.

But, on May 11, when she arrived at the airport at 9 am for her 10.40 am flight, she got to know that the flight was cancelled. Pandey, who had booked her tickets via TripODeal, said she did not receive any message or email informing her about the cancellation. "It was only when I was at the check-in counter did I get to know that my flight was cancelled. I was shocked," she told Moneycontrol.

When she sought help from the Indigo staff, she was directed to a counter where she managed to get tickets for another flight to Hyderabad which was scheduled around 5 pm. "I had booked a morning ticket because I wanted to make the most of the day. My sister and her family live in Hyderabad, my mother lives in Ayodhya and this family get-together was the first of its kind after Covid, so I was really looking forward to it," Pandey told the publication. "I was going to celebrate Mother's Day with my mother and I was also supposed to help my sister get ready for the function."

But a late flight was better than not flying out at all, Pandey thought and she even used the waiting time to get ready for the event at the airport itself.

Anubha Pandey used her waiting period at the airport to get dressed for the family function so that she could directly head to the venue after landing in Hyderabad. (Image credit: Moneycontrol)

Meanwhile, when she asked the Indigo staff about the refreshments that the airline is supposed to provide flyers in case of cancellations and delays, she was directed to a food court counter and was informed that she was permitted to take two idlis, a vada and a cup of coffee. "For someone waiting hours at the airport for no fault of her own, that amount of food was negligible. What's more, the food counter had run out of vada, so they gave me three idlis and were gracious enough to offer me some water as well," Pandey said.

"I had checked with the Indigo authorities if there was a possibility of the flight getting delayed, but they had said that the flight was on time. Closer to the boarding time, however, I found out that this flight was also running late. The rescheduled flight time was 7.50 pm, which meant that if I took the flight, I would reach Hyderabad airport after 9.30 pm. It would have been too late for me to attend the function by then," Pandey said. She then approached the Indigo manager at the Delhi airport requesting her tickets to be cancelled.

"My ticket for the Indigo flight to Hyderabad was finally cancelled and a refund was initiated, and the manager--who was helpful--even assisted in cancelling my Vistara ticket for the return flight," Pandey said. But after spending 12 harrowing hours at the airport, when she asked if the airline would offer her any compensation for the trauma she faced, Pandey was told that Indigo could offer her Rs 2,000 as reparation. "I refused to accept it," Pandey told Moneycontrol. "That amount could not justify the trauma my family and I faced or the time I lost with my family."

Pandey left the Delhi airport for her Gurgaon home around 9 pm.

Responding to the incident, Indigo told Moneycontrol that it deeply regretted the inconvenience caused to its customers.

"Flight 6E 2065 between Delhi to Hyderabad, was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions on May 11, 2024. The customers were assisted with bookings on the next available flights. Unfortunately, 6E 6217 opted by the customer was delayed due to operational reasons and departed at 20:38 hrs. on the same day," the airline said in a statement.

"The customers were kept informed and were provided with refreshments. Since the customer chose not to travel to the destination on the same day, the airport team assisted with a refund of the onward flight, along with the cancellation of the return flight on different carriers and arrange for a full refund. The customer was also given a travel voucher as a token of goodwill gesture. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to our customers."