Actor Sonu Sood Faces Backlash For Defending IndiGo Staff Amid Mass Flight Cancellations

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sonu Sood is facing the wrath of angry Indigo passengers and social media users for defending the airline staff amid mass flight cancellations.

After the actor took to his X account to defend IndiGo ground staff, irked social media users accused him of paid PR service to shift the narrative.

Resharing Sonu’s video in which he defended the airline staff, a user wrote, “IndiGo has now started a paid media campaign to shift the narrative! Beware, don’t fall for it! These are sponsored messages put out by the rogue company and its hubristic executives.”

“IndiGo’s PR spin is on overdrive, don’t mistake paid propaganda for public sentiment,” another commented.

One user wrote, “Itna kharcha pilots hire karne mein karte toh yeh sab hota hi nahi.”

“These are PR campaigns that have started running, even though IndiGo’s flights are still on the ground, and so are the stranded passengers. Remember, there cannot be a clearer case of IndiGo’s blatant corruption and government complicity in it,” expressed another netizen.

One person wrote, “Got money to pay influencers, but not to refund?”

“Sonu ji, rather than lecturing people, it would be good if you lectured IndiGo’s management that they should be on the ground with the staff. Management has conveniently put staff to face the public. What will frustrated people do? Why don’t you bring a chartered plane and ensure people reach home safely?” wrote one person.

“A calculated PR effort supporting IndiGo is imminent,” voiced one user.

On Saturday, the actor took to X to share a video message, urging people to stay respectful towards the Indigo ground staff.

“A delayed flight is frustrating, but remember the faces trying to fix it. Please be nice and humble to the IndiGo staff; they are carrying the weight of cancellations too. Let’s support them,” Sonu wrote.

In his video message, the actor said, “Friends, this is a small message regarding the inconvenience you’ve faced on IndiGo flights over the past 2–3 days. My own family was travelling, and they had to wait for about 4.5–5 hours. Eventually, the flight took off and they reached their destination. But many flights didn’t take off. A lot were cancelled, people couldn’t attend weddings, meetings got cancelled, and events were called off.”

“What saddened me the most was seeing what the ground staff at the airports had to go through while people were shouting at them. I know there’s frustration, there’s pain, and people express their anger. But try to put yourself in their shoes. They are helpless. They don’t know the schedules ahead, whether flights will take off or not. They just pass on the messages they get from above,” he added.