IndiGo Airlines has come under fire after podcaster and entrepreneur Prakhar Gupta accused the carrier of unprofessional behaviour and attempting to "bribe" him. Gupta’s grievances stemmed from a sudden change in his flight schedule, which he claimed was communicated to him with insufficient notice, and the airline's alleged mishandling of the situation.
Gupta, host of "Prakhar Ke Pravachan", shared his ordeal on X (formerly Twitter), where his post quickly garnered over 2 million views. According to Gupta, IndiGo “preponed” his early morning flight by 2.5 hours and informed him of the change via text at 4 am.
"How do you change a flight time and PREPONE it, 2.5 hours before the flight at 4 AM in the morning, expect me to make it on time, and then when I do get there 5 minutes behind on the new time, you do not let me check in my bag and make me pay for a new flight?" Gupta wrote in his viral post.
He further alleged that he received no email notification of the change, only a text message, and criticised the airline for its lack of communication and disregard for passengers’ schedules.
Gupta accused IndiGo staff of behaving rudely and unprofessionally during the ordeal. He claimed that while resolving his issue, staff members were “playing very distasteful private voice messages to each other on speaker phone and giggling at the obscenity.” He said he had already paid additional charges to secure a new flight but was met with unprofessional conduct.
"Flight providers cannot whimsically play with people’s times and lives without us being compensated, and more so without making us pay more for their errors. This is a violation of any reasonable terms of service," he added.
In response to Gupta’s post, IndiGo’s official X account acknowledged his complaint, stating, "Mr Gupta, we are currently looking into this and will reach out to you soon to resolve the matter."
However, Gupta alleged that the airline attempted to “bribe” him with Rs 6,000 to remove his post. "No apology, either written or verbal, issued. However, safe to say that social media pressure does work. Apparently Indigo HQ is now involved, but no help has been offered," he wrote in a follow-up post.
Taking his frustration further, Gupta addressed IndiGo’s CEO directly, offering to fly him first class to his studio to showcase “the unwavering Indian Tolerance we are famous for.”
Amid the backlash, IndiGo released an official statement clarifying the situation. The airline attributed the schedule adjustments to heightened security measures implemented ahead of Republic Day.
"We promptly communicated these schedule adjustments to passengers upon implementation. Our teams made every effort to assist passengers arriving after the revised timings. In one instance, a passenger who arrived beyond the original flight time was extended the option of an alternative flight with minimal charges as a gesture of goodwill," the statement read, seemingly referencing Gupta’s case.
In a statement, Indigo said that their flight, among others, was affected due to airspace restrictions associated with Republic Day. "We promptly communicated these schedule adjustments to passengers upon implementation. Our teams made every effort to assist passengers arriving after the revised timings," the airline said.
"In one instance, a passenger who arrived beyond the original flight time was extended the option of an alternative flight with minimal charges. Later, the customer was offered a refund of fees charged towards reaccommodation on next flight amounting to INR 5998 in total, for him and his co-passenger, purely as a goodwill gesture for brand loyalty. At IndiGo, we prioritise courteous guest support and strive to deliver a positive travel experience for all our customers."
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