Flight delayed by over one hour, passengers protest near runway

NEW DELHI: There was high drama at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) after more than 50 passengers travelling to Bengaluru by an Indigo flight got off the bus, ferrying them to the plane, and started protesting in the early hours of Monday.

Airline officials called security personnel before the passengers could spill over to the runway, triggering a major security risk.

Officials said the passengers started protesting in the boarding gate area. A CISF team had to be called in, after which flyers were pacified and advised to take the flight.

According to airport officials, around 1.20am, a few passengers, who had arrived to board the Indigo flight from New Delhi to Bengaluru, started protesting in the boarding gate area when they came to know that the flight had been delayed by an hour.

“The standard time of departure was 1am, which was changed to 2am by the airline. At 1.19am, the boarding for the flight was started. All 116 passengers scheduled to travel by the flight were accommodated in the Indigo ferry buses, to be taken o the aircraft. However, at 1.25am, t he boarding was stopped. As a result, passengers got off the buses and created a nuisance,” a senior officer, not authorised to speak to the media, said.

The airline officials then called the CISF for assistance. “The CISF team reached the location and all passengers were pacified with the help of the airline staff. At 2.07am, the flight took off with all passengers aboard,” the officer said.

A CISF officer, who did not wish to be named, said the passengers were annoyed by the delay. “The crowd was controlled in time. Nothing untoward incident took place,” he said.

An Indigo airline spokesperson said, “We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers of 6E 2624. The aircraft arrived late and, hence, the boarding of the Bengaluru flight was delayed by over hour. Our staff apologised to passengers and the flight departed by 2.28am.”