Two 'unruly' IndiGo passengers deboarded after flight delayed by 9 hours
IndiGo deboarded two unruly passengers after a 9-hour delay on its Mumbai–Krabi flight due to late aircraft arrival and FDTL rules
Two passengers were deboarded from an IndiGo flight over unruly behaviour after the flight got delayed by nine hours due to the late arrival of an incoming aircraft, traffic congestion, and the crew exceeding their duty time limitations because of the delay in the flight’s departure. The two unruly passengers were handed over to the security agencies. The flight was heading from Mumbai to Thailand’s Krabi.
Passengers abused cabin crew
Videos of the incident posted on X showed passengers abusing the cabin crew, with a male passenger kicking the cockpit door. Passengers alleged that IndiGo did not share any updates with them regarding the delayed departure.
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The passengers also raised slogans against IndiGo, allegedly abused the pilot and demanded that he come out and explain the reason behind the delay to them.
Several factors led to delay: IndiGo
IndiGo stated that the delay was an outcome of a combination of reasons, including the late arrival of an incoming aircraft and the crew exceeding their FDTL, which delayed the flight.
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“Two of the customers on board behaved inappropriately during the wait time and were declared unruly. As per protocol, they were deboarded and handed over to the security agencies, resulting in further delays,” stated the airline, reported the Hindustan Times.
It further stated that meals and refreshments were served several times during the waiting time, and its airport team was assisting passengers.
“We remain committed to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all and regret the inconvenience caused to our customers,” stated IndiGo.
The chain of events
An official of the Mumbai airport said that the IndiGo flight was initially delayed due to the late arrival of an incoming aircraft.
“The incoming aircraft was arriving from... [West Asia], but was delayed. Once it arrived, the operating cockpit crew exhausted its FDTL [flight duty time limitation], leading to further delay."
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The official further stated that there was a further delay due to traffic congestion before the flight took off at 1pm, while it was scheduled for departure at 4:05 am.
IndiGo suffered an operational meltdown earlier when it was left with an insufficient crew after the new FDTL came into force on November 1, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.