Mumbai: Actor Vijay Lakshmi Mallya took to Instagram to describe the ordeal faced by passengers of a Mumbai-Gorakhpur SpiceJet flight on Sunday.
The passengers were allowed to board the aircraft after hours of delay. After the safety announcement on board, there was a further wait of an hour, before passengers were told that the flight has been cancelled.
The pilots and crew apparently left the aircraft, leaving the passengers confused. Many of them, including Mallya then occupied the tarmac. The actor made a video while lying on the tarmac and posted it.
“Maine life mein kabhi aisa nahi socha tha ki main plane ke neeche aise leti rahungi (I never imagined I would have to lie like this under an aircraft),” before panning the camera to show other passengers waiting on the tarmac.
Some were seated, while others stood around as they waited for the airline to resolve the situation.
The incident involved SpiceJet flight SG 553 that had faced several delays throughout the day, but passengers were eventually allowed to board. There was much relief as the safety briefing was done. However, the aircraft remained where it was.
The actor shared more footage of the chaos, including a video recorded while she was getting off the aircraft. She said passengers had been asked to deboard after completing the boarding process.
“Ye meri life mein pehli baar ho raha hai ki boarding ke baad hum logon ko bataya ja raha hai ki flight khaali karo (This is the first time in my life that I have been told to leave the aircraft after boarding),” she said.
She also questioned the explanation about night landing restrictions at Gorakhpur.
“Main khud Gorakhpur ki hoon aur maine bahut baar raat ko flight se travel kiya hai. Ye toh unprofessional hai, ye possible hi nahi hai, ye bahut galat hai (I am from Gorakhpur myself and have travelled by flight at night many times. This is unprofessional, this is simply not possible, and this is very wrong),” she said.
The incident has gone viral on social media platforms and drew the ire of users. Many pointed out how SpiceJet has continued to deteriorate in service.
Flight SG553, scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Gorakhpur on November 1, was cancelled due to operating-hour restrictions at Gorakhpur airport, which is a defence facility, SoiceJet later clarified.
Its operating hours could not be extended beyond 9 pm, the airline said.
“On November 01, 2026, SpiceJet flight SG553 scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Gorakhpur was cancelled due to watch hour restrictions at Gorakhpur,” the airline said in an official statement, as reported by The Indian Express.
It had arranged an additional commercial flight on November 2 to transport the stranded passengers, SpiceJet later said. It also expressed regret over the disruption and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
The airline has remained under scrutiny for several such instances and recently, a passenger travelling from Mumbai detailed his bizarre story of missing a SpiceJet flight even after he arrived two hours ahead of schedule.