IndiGo chaos: Flights cancelled, facilities collapse at Bengaluru airport | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) — both Terminals 1 and 2 — witnessed scenes of anger and exhaustion as hundreds of stranded passengers chanted “Down Down, IndiGo”, following 391 flight cancellations since Dec 2, including a whopping 292 on Friday alone. The ripple effect of nationwide operational disruptions left travellers with no clarity, no food, and in many cases, not even access to basic facilities.Rohan Srinivas, an entrepreneur flying to Delhi, said he was told to “wait indefinitely”. “There is absolutely no information. They’ve checked in our bags, and now we can’t even retrieve them. We’re just stuck here,” he said, surrounded by several equally distressed travellers. “Every one hour, the IndiGo flight officials announce an updated time, but then it changes after an hour, which makes it impossible for us to leave the airport.“Among those stuck were students heading to crucial MBA entrance exams, families travelling for weddings, and elderly passengers sitting on the floor for hours. “I have my exam tomorrow (Saturday). I’ve been here since 5am,” said Vidhya Prakash, a 22-year-old trying to fly to Hyderabad. “All they say is to wait. How long can we just wait? If I miss the exam, the college won’t hold a re-exam, and I’ll have to waste a year.“Sources within IndiGo admitted that crowd management has become the biggest challenge. “People are flocking to the terminal even after receiving cancellation messages. There’s simply no place to move,” an official said.Meanwhile, passengers complained of worsening conditions at both terminals. “I haven’t had food in seven hours. Every restaurant is out of food,” said Karan Bora, a passenger heading to Madhya Pradesh. “The crowds are so big that even water kiosks are empty.” Several others were seen struggling with medical needs. “I’m diabetic. I need my medicines every four hours,” said Revathi Narayan, a 67-year-old traveller who was waiting since Thursday night, after her luggage was checked in and she could not retrieve it.Parents with young children said the washrooms became unusable because of the surge in footfall. “The washrooms are dirty, overflowing. My four-year-old is crying because she is scared to even enter them,” said Aparna Kumar, a Bengaluru resident travelling to Kolkata.Some passengers said they felt trapped. “We can’t exit because our bags are inside, and we can’t cancel our flights because we won’t get a full refund… we need to wait for hours in the airport till IndiGo cancels our flights,” Mohammed Faizal, a Kochi-bound passenger, told TOI. Others complained that IndiGo’s help desk remained unmanned for long stretches. “We were walking from counter to counter like headless chickens,” said Sandeep Naik, a flyer to Jaipur. “No one told us if the flight would even operate today.”Video clips circulating from both terminals showed angry passengers confronting staff, chanting slogans, and demanding refunds, accommodation, or at least an explanation. With cancellations continuing for the third straight day, KIA officials said they are “managing the situation with available resources”. However, passengers maintained that the response has been far from adequate.