4.5-hr Dehradun-Chennai IndiGo flight turns into 10-hr ordeal: A Twitter account

A 4.5-hour flight journey turned into a 10-hour nightmare for the passengers of IndiGo flight 6E518 from Dehradun to Chennai on July 2-3, as narrated by one passenger and another’s husband on Twitter.

The duo shared on the microblogging site how the captain was seemingly exhausted and so were the crew members. After a stop in Lucknow, the flight apparently went to Delhi, where a new pilot was found to take the passengers to Chennai.

While Sameer Mohan posted screenshots of his wife’s WhatsApp conversations with him detailing the incidents on the flight, another passenger, Ketharinath Kamalanathan, shared a video and also posted updates.

At 10.47 pm on July 2, an hour after Mohan’s post, the airline apologised for the delay in a tweet and said it was “actively working to get the passengers to their destination at the earliest”. The flight finally landed in Chennai shortly before 2:59 am, according to the time of Mohan’s tweet.

What happened on the flight?

Mohan first tweeted at 9.47 pm on July 2 that his wife’s flight had already been delayed by more than three hours. “Dear @IndiGo6E my wife’s on a flight that has been delayed for 3+ hours now and is now been going to Delhi. If this is how you’re gonna treat regulars then god bless. This is not done. Tagging the hon minister of civil aviation for resolution,” he wrote.

Mr Mohan, we deeply regret the inconvenience caused due to the unforeseen flight delay. Your understanding and cooperation are truly appreciated. Rest assured, we're actively working to get the passengers to their destination at the earliest. ~Poulami

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) July 2, 2023

Along with that, he posted screenshots of his chats with his wife, who wrote, “Captain is exhausted it seems. He cannot do it anymore. So he asked…some other captain to take us.” According to the screenshots shared on Twitter, the captain apparently asked the passengers to “put this on Twitter and everywhere”. In another screenshot she reports that the “flight is going to Delhi”. The conversations seemingly take place between 9.40 and 9.44 pm.

In another screenshot shared in a subsequent tweet, Mohan’s wife reports at 9.46 pm that the “captain is angry” and “maybe they couldn’t find any replacements”.

At 9.49 pm, she seemingly reports that the flight has taken off from Delhi. She explains in further chats that in Delhi “they will look for a captain” and from there they will fly to Chennai.

Also read: Passengers insist on pilot change after IndiGo flight aborts Mumbai landing, diverted to Udaipur

Passenger narrates ordeal

Even before Mohan’s first tweet, passenger Ketharinath Kamalanathan shared a video from inside the plane at 9.09 pm on July 2. “#6E518 from Dehradun to Chennai on 2nd July already delayed by around 2:30 hours… took off from DED at 1922 hrs….landed in LKO at 2020 hrs… Now waiting for the Captain in LKO airport for the past 50 minutes. No bother about passengers,” he tweeted along with the video.

#6E518 from Dehradun to Chennai on 2nd July already delayed by around 2:30 hours… took off from DED at 1922 hrs….landed in LKO at 2020 hrs… Now waiting for the Captain in LKO airport for the past 50 minutes. No bother about passengers. #GoIndigo @IndiGo6E @DGCAIndia pic.twitter.com/ir4Kmv4ABT

— Ketharinath Kamalanathan (@kknath) July 2, 2023

Finally captain & pilot arrived. New crew. It's 0000 hrs on July 3rd. Yet 2 take off. Passengers have been struck since 3 PM, its been 9 hours minimum…. Horrible experience. Just giving a cookie & juice doesn't help. Many like me are diabetic@IndiGo6E @DGCAIndia @timesofindia

— Ketharinath Kamalanathan (@kknath) July 2, 2023

At 9.44 pm, he further tweeted: “Captain just announced the delay is due (to DGCA) regulation. Crew already exhausted recommended 12 hrs of duty, (Indigo) was informed but no arrangements were made by (Indigo). It’s a safety protocol, of course. Now, we are routed to (Delhi) & then (to Chennai).”

At 11.25 pm, seemingly after landing in Delhi, he tweeted that the “pilots parked the flight and walked off. Crew has no information and they are very tired too. Too poor situation handling by IndiGo.”

At 11.59 pm, Kamalanathan tweeted that the pilot had arrived: “New crew. It’s 0000 hrs on July 3rd. Yet 2 take off. Passengers have been struck since 3 PM, it’s been 9 hours minimum…. Horrible experience. Just giving a cookie & juice doesn’t help. Many like me are diabetic.”

Coinciding with Mohan’s tweet, he also posted at 2.59 am on July 3: “Finally, landed in Chennai at 0255 hours on July 3rd. It’s 6 hour delay.”

Also read: IndiGo’s growing market share raises concerns of monopoly in Indian aviation

Netizens slam IndiGo

Replying to Mohan, IndiGo responded on Twitter, “…we deeply regret the inconvenience caused due to the unforeseen flight delay. Your understanding and cooperation are truly appreciated. Rest assured, we’re actively working to get the passengers to their destination at the earliest.”

Twitter users reacting to the posts condemned the airline while some praised the pilot. One user slammed IndiGo’s “casual reply” and urged the DGCA to fine the airline and provide full refund to passengers.

“Unfortunately, this is practically a monopoly — so there is no real pressure or motivation for Indigo currently,” tweeted another user.

Another wrote: “But I appreciate captain he didn’t gave up on pressure and do what’s safe for all passengers, including himself. When ur fatigue it’s best to wait (sic).”