Unreal scenes were witnessed at Mumbai airport today after passengers sat on the tarmac near a plane and had their dinner after facing a delay of over 12 hours. A video of the incident has been doing the rounds on social media.
Incidentally, the video came hours after a clip of a cabin crew being assaulted by a passenger over the delay in take-off had gone viral on the internet.
The footage depicted passengers seated on the airport apron, having their meals with an IndiGo aircraft visible in the background. According to the individual who posted the video, these passengers were originally scheduled for a Goa-Delhi flight that faced a 12-hour delay. Eventually, the flight was purportedly redirected to Mumbai.
The scheduled departure time for the flight from either Goa or Delhi on January 14 (Sunday) was approximately 9:15 am. However, it ended up taking off in the evening and touched down in Mumbai at 5:12 am on January 15 (Monday).
“We regret this discomfort and assure you that it is never our intent to disrupt the travel plans of our flyers. However, at times, due to certain operational reasons, such delays are beyond the control of the airline. We look forward to your kind understanding,” the airline said.
Earlier today, another video of a passenger assaulting a cabin crew of an IndiGo flight had gone viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the video, a passenger wearing a yellow hoodie ran from the aisle in the middle of the announcement that the pilot was making and slapped him. The agitated passenger said, “Either fly the plane or open the gates,” hinting that the passengers were made to sit in the plane for a long time. While a co-passenger apologised profusely for the behaviour of the person in the yellow hoodie, one of the air hostesses broke down and said, “You cannot do this”, repeatedly.
IndiGo is facing intense backlash over delays of several flights across the country, primarily on account of inclement weather conditions due to prevailing fog. A total of 10 flights were diverted, and 100 were delayed. Some of the flights were reportedly cancelled as well.