Days after being tagged as the worst airlines in the world, Indigo on Friday apologised to the passengers stranded in Istanbul airport for hours owing to delays in flights to New Delhi and Mumbai. The airliner apologised for the inconvenience and assured that the issue would be sorted at the earliest. Passengers took to social media to recount their terrible experience.
The trouble began when a flight from Istanbul to Delhi, scheduled to depart at 8.10 pm on December 12, was initially delayed to the next day at 1.30 pm. Passengers were left at the airport with little information or support from IndiGo staff.
Similarly, the flight from Istanbul to Mumbai, originally set to depart at 8.15 pm on December 12, was first pushed to 11.00 pm, then delayed again to the following morning at 10 am. IndiGo operates one flight each daily from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul with Boeing 777 aircraft. Many of them have been stranded since Thursday.
While the exact details of the impacted flights could not be immediately ascertained. Frustrated travellers took to social media to express their dissatisfaction, saying they received no communication from IndiGo regarding the ongoing delays.Despite promises of lounge access as compensation, the lounge at Istanbul Airport was overcrowded and unable to accommodate all the stranded travellers, they claimed on social media.
“We are aware of the delays on the IndiGo flight connections to Istanbul. We accord the highest priority towards customer convenience and our teams are available at all contact points to assist customers,” IndiGo said in a statement on Friday. The airline also apologised for the “inconvenience” caused to the passengers.
Some passengers also shared pictures of people stuck at the airport. In a post on X, a passenger said, “first time to India and stranded at the Istanbul Airport for the last 24 hours because the IndiGo flight keeps cancelling. No food. No clarity. No representative, No compensation, Pathetic treatment”.
“Lot of people stranded at the airport due to pathetic services by @IndiGo6E and @TurkishAirlines operators. Never book flights with them as they don’t value passengers time. You can never be on time with @IndiGo6E,” another passenger said in a post on X.
Another passenger took to X on Friday at 3:50 AM (IST) to express his frustration about the delay, writing, “Hey @IndiGo6E, your handling of flight 6E0018 from Istanbul to Mumbai on Dec 12 has been a disaster. Scheduled to depart at 8:15 PM, it was delayed to 11 PM on the same day. Fine, we waited. Then it was shockingly pushed to 10 AM the next day. What’s going on?”
He added, “To make matters worse, NO ONE from Indigo was present at the gate to explain the situation. The news came from Turkish Airlines crew, and there was no formal announcement, just complete chaos. We were told we’d get lounge access at Istanbul airport as compensation. But the lounge was far too small to accommodate the huge number of stranded passengers. Many of us were left standing for hours without proper facilities. Seriously, @IndiGo6E?” IndiGo responded to his complaint, stating, “we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and will connect with you.”
Earlier this month, IndiGo was ranked among the “world’s worst airlines” in the 2024 AirHelp Score report, securing 103rd place out of 109 with a score of 4.80. This low rating is attributed to poor customer satisfaction and the airline’s handling of flight disruption claims.
