Six passengers, including two elderly persons, were stranded at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on the night of Sunday, November 19, after the IndiGo flight staff allegedly deceived them. The passengers alleged that the flight operator was unwilling to take-off with just six passengers onboard and that they were deceived through a call made by an airline staff.
According to a Times of India report, the passengers were onboard in a Chennai bound flight. The flight was going to Chennai from Amritsar via Bengaluru. However, when the flight paused at Bengaluru at around 9.30 pm, all the passengers, except six persons, deboarded. Following this, all the six passengers had received a phone call, purportedly from an airline staff, who had stated that they were waiting at the airport with their boarding passes for a Chennai-bound flight that was ready to fly. All the passengers had rushed out of the flight, only to realise that there were no boarding passes or flight ready to fly.
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“Six passengers, including I, were seated in the plane on the Bengaluru tarmac when I received a call on my mobile phone from an IndiGo ground crew member asking me to get off the flight as he was waiting for me inside the airport with my boarding pass for another flight, ready to depart to Chennai,” a passenger had told ToI. Even as the passengers had tracked down the staff who called them, they received no response. The passengers also alleged that no accommodation was also arranged for them.
However, the airline company had claimed to ToI that two passengers were accommodated in a hotel that was 13 km away from the airport, and the others “decided to stay at the airport lounge”.
"On November 19, 2023, flight 6E 478 was operating from Amritsar to Chennai via Bengaluru with eight transit passengers on board. Due to the delay of the incoming aircraft from Amritsar, these passengers were unable to board the onward flight to Chennai at the Bengaluru Airport," IndiGo said.
"IndiGo ground staff made every possible effort to help passengers make the connection, but due to lack of time, they were unable to board the aircraft. IndiGo staff offered the passengers overnight accommodation and booking on the next available flight, but certain passengers chose to stay in the airport lounge. We deeply apologise for the inconvenience caused to the passengers," it added.