IndiGo passengers allege mismanagement during 18-hr delay; miss connecting flights
Passengers have expressed concerns about frequent delays between Istanbul and India. Representational pic/iStock
Within two months, this is the fourth major disruption in the India-Istanbul sector. On Thursday, Indigo flight 6E11 (Delhi-Istanbul) was delayed for over 18 hours. The passengers alleged that they were made to wait at the airport for hours before the airline arranged for accommodation. The flight was scheduled to depart at 6.40 am on January 23 but departed at 1.20 am on January 24. This led to many missing connecting flights.
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A passenger said, “The airline is responsible for the passengers in case of delays. This was not a delay caused by the fog as well. We were told that there was a technical issue but does it take 18 hours to solve a technical issue?”
The passenger added, “The airline could have easily arranged for an alternate aircraft in this timeframe and the delay could have been reduced. Many were supposed to board a connecting flight from Istanbul which they missed.”
This is not the first time the India-Istanbul sector faced massive delays. On December 28, 2024, Indigo flight 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul) faced a 16 hours delay. and passengers were stuck inside the terminal building. The passengers had to go through security checks three times as they were boarded on the aircraft twice and then deboarded before they were allowed to board for the third for departure.
On December 11, 2024, an IndiGo flight from Istanbul to Mumbai was delayed for over two days with the passengers being stranded at Istanbul airport. On December 13 an IndiGo flight from Istanbul to Delhi was also delayed. The number of passengers stranded at Istanbul airport back then surpassed 400. The situation was such that the Consulate General of India in Istanbul had to step in. IndiGo sent two aircraft from India to Istanbul to bring passengers.
After the latest incident, passengers expressed concerns about frequent delays on flights between Istanbul and India. A passenger stranded in Delhi during the latest 18-hour delay on Thursday told mid-day, “I’m not sure what’s going wrong on this route. Flights in this sector have faced significant delays over the past month. Why is this route one of the most affected?”
Why are connecing flights missed if a flight to Istanbul gets delayed?
Istanbul Airport serves as a hub for connecting flights from India to a wide range of countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, primarily due to its strategic location between continents and its status as a major hub for Turkish Airlines. Particularly prominent destinations are countries like Germany, France, UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Istanbul Airport, which opened in 2018, has been revealed as the world’s best-connected airport in August 2024, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
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