India’s IndiGo is facing increasing anger from passengers due to delays in locating and delivering thousands of stranded bags. Social media is flooded with photos of luggage piling up at airports following last week’s major flight disruptions.
IndiGo, which holds 65% of the domestic market, apologized after canceling more than 2,000 flights. The airline failed to plan in time for stricter pilot rest rules, resulting in crew shortages. The delays affected tens of thousands of people, disrupting travel, holiday, and wedding plans in one of the worst aviation disruptions in India’s history.
Last-minute cancellations and multiple connecting flights used to reroute passengers have also left thousands of suitcases and bags misplaced. Some of these bags contain valuable items, such as passports, house keys, and medicines.
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Bags lost, wedding clothes missing
Social media posts showed security-tagged bags piled up in terminal areas at New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru airports. Many furious passengers sought help from IndiGo’s social media team on X. “Delhi Left Holding The Bag,” read the headline of a viral Times of India newspaper photo showing hundreds of bags in an area typically meant for passengers to sit.
The Indian government stated late on Sunday that it had ordered IndiGo to “trace and deliver all baggage separated from passengers due to disruptions within 48 hours.” By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India, according to the government.
No response on help lines
Vikash Bajpai, 47, said he had been waiting for four days for the luggage he and his 72-year-old mother checked in for their flight home to Pune from Kanpur city, where they attended a wedding.
They only reached home after spending a night in a New Delhi hotel, taking a series of connections to Mumbai, and then a taxi to Pune.
There was no sign of their bags when they landed in Mumbai. “I was given a number to call, but nobody answers the phone. The luggage has expensive wedding clothes and shoes, and my mother’s medication,” Bajpai told Reuters, estimating the contents were worth Rs90,000 ($1,000).
“I am extremely upset.”
A senior IndiGo executive told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the airline was working “round the clock” to clear the bags and ensure they reached their customers.
Deepak Chetry said he finally got his bags from IndiGo on Saturday, but only after waiting an entire night outside Bengaluru airport. “All we got was a bottle of water and juice,” Chetry said.
IndiGo processes Rs6,100 million in refunds amid flight cancellations.
IndiGo flight cancellations: What caused disruption; timeline of events.
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