Irate passenger complains on social media after IndiGo flight delayed for 7 hours, airline issues refund

New Delhi: An IndiGo passenger took to social media to express his frustration after enduring what he described as the "worst flight experience" of his life with the airline.

On Friday, the 10 p.m. Kolkata-Bengaluru flight, normally a routine journey, turned into a nightmarish ordeal for the passenger marked by a series of delays, totlaling a staggering seven hours.

The user named Deedy, in a series of posts on X, said: "I had the worst flight experience of my life last night, with Indigo. My 10 PM Calcutta-Bangalore flight left at 4.41 AM, after 6 delays totaling 7 hrs. I missed an international flight. 'Always on-time' is false advertising from @IndiGo6E. I’d avoid flying them again."

According to the disgruntled passenger, IndiGo, despite facing delays exceeding six hours, failed to offer the mandatory alternate flight and refund as required by aviation laws.

Deedy outlined the sequence of delays, ranging from half an hour to a staggering four hours, before the flight eventually departed at 4.41 a.m. arriving at its destination at 7.02 a.m.

At approximately 12.20 AM, frustrated and realising the impact on his international connection, Deedy decided to cancel his IndiGo flight and book a direct flight to San Francisco. He claimed it took the IndiGo team an additional two hours, until 2.20 a.m., to cancel his flight and return his checked-in luggage.

Deedy alleged that IndiGo employees initially resisted the cancellation, stating, "we won't do cancellations". Adding insult to injury, Deedy also said that the misleading information provided by some IndiGo employees who dismissed the delays as "regulation procedure." Furthermore, he shared an encounter with a person who condescendingly advised him to keep "at least TWELVE hours between flights" for international travel.

Deedy clarified that the delays were not due to fog, a common occurrence during December to February in India. While certain flights experience fog-related delays of approximately an hour, IndiGo's delays on this occasion were unrelated to adverse weather conditions.

Expressing his frustration, he posted: "Absolutely zero respect for other people's time and money."

In response to the tweets, IndiGo issued a statement, expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to Deedy and assuring him of a full refund, which he would receive between 5-7 business days. The airline acknowledged the importance of travellers' arrangements and claimed that such experiences were not reflective of their intended level of service.