Chaos ensued at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday as passengers bound for Patna on a SpiceJet flight vented their frustration over a 7-hour delay. The incident unfolded around 3:10 pm at domestic boarding gate 54, leading to a confrontation between irate passengers and airline staff.
According to the Airport Authority, the delay was caused by the late arrival of the incoming flight. The agitated group of passengers, upon learning about the prolonged delay, expressed their frustration by creating a disturbance at the boarding gate. Quick Response Team (QRT) and the boarding gate-in-charge (B/G I/C) swiftly intervened to pacify the situation.
“The group got frustrated and started creating a nuisance with airline staff,” stated the Airport Authority, emphasizing the need for timely communication to prevent such incidents.
In response, SpiceJet defended itself, stating that passengers were informed in advance about the revised departure time to facilitate travel planning.
“Today’s SpiceJet Delhi-Patna flight SG 8721 has already landed at its destination. The flight’s departure had been revised last night, and passengers had been duly informed about the revised departure time at 12.40 a.m. last night itself so that they could accordingly plan their travel to the airport,” clarified SpiceJet.
Despite this incident, the aviation industry in India is anticipated to witness a 15 percent growth in air traffic, reaching 155 million passengers in the fiscal year 2023-24, as projected by aviation advisory and research firm CAPA India. This estimate aligns with the firm’s March 2023 forecast.
The report from CAPA India acknowledges the challenges faced by the industry, including the grounding of Go First, supply chain issues, and the current status of over 150 aircraft remaining grounded.
“As of now, Indian carriers have around 150+ aircraft on the ground, largely due to supply chain and other issues,” the report noted. It further highlighted the resilience of domestic air traffic despite these challenges, with projections suggesting the possibility of over 200 aircraft remaining grounded by the end of March 2024.
