Passenger Outrage: IndiGo Flight Delayed 3 Hours Due to Late Pilot, Airline Issues Refund After Social Media Complaint

A passenger turned to social media platforms to express frustration after experiencing a significant delay on an IndiGo flight.

An IndiGo customer publicly criticized the airline when their flight faced more than three hours of delay reportedly due to the pilot's late arrival. The traveler, who had booked IndiGo Flight 6E 6133 from Mumbai Terminal 2 to Rajkot, provided a comprehensive account of being confined inside the aircraft without proper information or responsibility acknowledgment regarding the situation.

"Following boarding, we received two separate delay notifications citing 'operational issues.' Initially rescheduled for 7:55 AM, then subsequently pushed to 8:40 AM, and we've already been inside the aircraft for over 1 hour and 20 minutes, with instructions to wait an additional 40 minutes," the passenger shared on X (previously known as Twitter).

"Later, the cabin crew informed us that the captain himself was delayed, which was the cause for the entire flight being held up! And now, we just received another message that the flight has been rescheduled to 10:30 AM!"

While passengers were waiting, one of the flight attendants disclosed that the aircraft's pilot was running behind schedule, resulting in the takeoff delay.

Describing the incident as 'pure negligence,' the exasperated passenger criticized the airline and demanded action. "This is completely unacceptable, no transparency, no politeness, no responsibility. If a captain can delay an entire flight while passengers are trapped inside, what kind of operational management is this?"

As the post gained considerable attention online, IndiGo initially provided a standard response before offering a detailed explanation of the events.

"The delay in your flight was caused by an unforeseen operational situation, and our teams made their best efforts to support all affected customers, including providing refreshments and continuous assistance during the waiting period," IndiGo stated.

"Additionally, the refund you requested has already been processed from our side and will appear in the travel agency's account within 24-48 business hours."

In a subsequent reply, the passenger thanked IndiGo for processing the refund but emphasized their disappointment. "Thank you for handling the cancellation and refund. However, honestly, this entire experience has been extremely frustrating," they mentioned.

The passenger added that they were fortunate to have booked both their outbound and return flights with IndiGo, allowing refunds for both segments.

"But imagine if my return flight had been booked with a different airline, I would have completely lost that ticket," they noted, urging the airline to "seriously evaluate such incidents, so passengers don't have to endure this type of experience in the future".