Flight operations at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport faced severe disruption over two consecutive days as IndiGo cancelled 33 flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and causing widespread inconvenience across key domestic routes.
The cancellations affected 16 departures and 17 arrivals on Tuesday and Wednesday, triggering long queues, missed connections, and rising frustration among travellers.
According to airport sources, the airline cancelled nine departures and five arrivals on December 2, followed by seven departures and twelve arrivals on December 3.
The affected flights connected major cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Hubbali, and Madurai.
Passengers heading to these destinations faced last-minute schedule changes, a lack of clarity, and no immediate alternatives.
Two-Day Travel Chaos
On Tuesday, IndiGo cancelled flights from Raipur, Coimbatore, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, and Goa. It also scrapped departures to Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Raipur, Udaipur, Goa, Kolkata, and Visakhapatnam.
In addition to cancellations, nine flights operating to destinations such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Goa faced delays, further compounding passenger distress.
Many passengers with connecting international flights were among the worst affected, as sudden schedule disruptions jeopardised their onward travel plans.
The delays also hit Ayappa devotees travelling to Sabarimala. Passengers booked on the Hyderabad–Kochi IndiGo flight were left stranded after a prolonged delay.
They complained that the airline failed to respond to their requests for refunds or rebooking.
Several devotees said their carefully planned pilgrimage schedule collapsed due to the disruptions.
Airport officials attributed the cancellations to operational issues, though no detailed explanation was officially released by the airline. Sources indicated that a nationwide technical glitch in check-in systems, linked to Microsoft Windows service outages, triggered cascading delays and cancellations across multiple airports in India.
Further complications emerged on Tuesday when poor visibility disrupted operations at Hyderabad airport.
Authorities diverted a Riyadh-Hyderabad flight to Mumbai and rerouted a Pune-Hyderabad service to Bengaluru.
Flight XY325 landed in Mumbai, while IndiGo’s 6E 352 touched down in Bengaluru.
As passengers continued to grapple with uncertainty, the disruptions highlighted the fragility of airline operations when technical failures and adverse weather conditions collide.
Travellers urged IndiGo to improve its communication mechanisms and provide timely updates during large-scale operational breakdowns.
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