Mumbai-Doha Indigo flight delayed by over 18 hrs

An Indigo flight from Mumbai to Doha was delayed over 18 hours due to a technical issue, causing significant passenger inconvenience.

Mumbai: An Indigo flight from Mumbai to Doha (6E 1303) was delayed by over 18 hours on Sunday due to a technical issue, inconveniencing the passengers on board. The flight which was scheduled to take off at 3.55am finally departed around 9.30pm.

Some passengers had heated arguments with Indigo’s ground staff

Dr Tanuja Shet, one of the passengers on the flight, told HT that the crew noticed an unusual odour in the cabin soon after the aircraft started taxiing.

“The aircraft was brought to the bay and the crew kept us waiting inside the flight for nearly three hours. I’m on my way to attend a conference but I’ve missed the connecting flight from Doha,” she said. The crew served small food packets and juice to passengers while they waited in the aircraft, and passengers were later taken to a hotel, she added. They were brought back to the airport prior to departure.

Dr M Kandalkar, a fellow passenger, said that small children faced a lot of trouble due to the delay. Another passenger who did not wish to be named, said, “They kept us waiting inside the flight claiming another flight would be arranged. But nothing was done.”

Some passengers also had heated arguments with Indigo’s ground staff.

IndiGo apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers. A company spokesperson said IndiGo flight 6E 1303 was delayed due to a technical reason.

“Our airport team immediately provided assistance to the affected customers. The aircraft tried to depart for its destination a couple of times but had to finally be called off due to the extended time lag on account of procedural delays. Customers are being provided hotels and are being rebooked as per their final destination.”