Mumbai: Passengers of an IndoGo flight from Mumbai to Doha, Qatar, had a tough time waiting inside the plane as the flight got delayed by five hours.
Various news reports stated that during this frustrating wait in the wee hours on Sunday, passengers were given no explanation. They did not even receive food or water from the airline staff who were mostly unavailable during this period.
A Google search shows that the departure time for Doha was 3.55 am but it departed at 10.05 am. It is expected to arrive at 8.35 pm at Doha.
“IndiGo flight 6E 1303 operating from Mumbai to Doha was delayed due to a technical reason. Our airport team immediately provided assistance to the affected customers and provided refreshments and necessary arrangements. The aircraft tried to depart for its destination a couple of times but had to finally be called off due to the extended time lag on account of various procedural delays. The customers are being provided hotels and are being rebooked as per their final destination. IndiGo sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused to its customers,” ANI quoted an Indigo spokesperson.
The exact number of passengers in the flight is not clear at the moment. However, it’s expected that the number of passengers in the flight was 250 to 300.
A passenger who was travelling with his wife and child said initially the aeroplane staff did not allow them to deboard the plane as immigration had been complicated. It was when passengers protested that they were allowed to deboard and sit in the holding area, NDTV reported.
However, many passengers had young children with them and the airlines not providing basic amenities such as snacks or water made them impatient. Earlier, replying to a passenger on X. IndiGo apologised for the inconvenience but said they couldn’t offload passengers because of immigration rules.
