Russian Couple, Man Who Lost Mother: Passengers Stranded Amid IndiGo Chaos

IndiGo's disruptions were reduced at the Chennai airport on Saturday after the Centre relaxed some Flight Duty Time Limitations, but several passengers remained stranded following cancellations, including a man who was rushing to be with his family after his mother's death, and a woman who was headed to Goa to bless her niece at her wedding.

NDTV noticed a 40-year-old man at the airport who was looking shattered and, when approached, he said he had lost his mother and needed to be in Lucknow. "The airline has said it will put me on an evening flight. I hope I will be able to see my mother before her last rites," he said. 

Not far away, Sylvia and her husband were in a queue at the customer care desk, hoping to get a flight to get to Goa for her niece's wedding, scheduled for Sunday. Their early morning flight was cancelled and the couple was desperate to be with the bride. Sylvia said, "My brother is no more, so I need to go and bless her during the wedding". 

Sylvia and her husband were also stranded

Trishila Jain was also waiting for details about her flight, praying desperately that her family wouldn't miss their annual pilgrimage in Maharashtra. Her morning flight to Mumbai had been cancelled. "What is the airline doing, where are the authorities? They should wake up and smell the coffee," Jain's mother said.

Asked whether the airline should compensate the passengers, she added, "More than the money, they should value passengers' time". 

International passengers, too, have been badly hit. As her husband waited for his turn in the queue, Derina from Russia was worried. The couple is scheduled to attend a spiritual retreat in Coimbatore and had already suffered because of the disruptions in Delhi. "I want to just get back home. I am worried about our return flight to Istanbul, which is also with Indigo. We are not getting proper updates," she said. 

The government has said strict action will be taken against IndiGo and sources said on Saturday that the Centre may also push for CEO Pieter Elbers' removal. Passengers said they remain wary because while the government has said things should normalise in two to three days, Elbers has said this could happen only by December 15. 

(With inputs by Abinaya Kumarasamy)