Radhika Apte, co-flyers, locked in aerobridge at Mumbai Airport

It is not clear how long the actor and her co-passengers were locked inside. Apte posted photos of all the passengers squatting on the carpeted floor of the aerobridge. When contacted, IndiGo said in a statement that did not address the issue of passengers being locked in

MUMBAI: Bollywood star Radhika Apte and her co-passengers had a harrowing experience at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday morning when they got locked inside the aerobridge of an IndiGo flight to Bhubaneswar.

Radhika Apte (Yogen Shah)

The incident happened when passengers were told to board Flight 6E 2301 from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar at 8.30 am. However, while they queued up inside the aerobridge, the flight was delayed due to a crew change. When Apte and several passengers tried to find out why they were kept waiting, they realised that they had been locked inside the aerobridge, and said that despite their pleas, the IndiGo staff did not allow them to return to the departure lounge.

‘I had to post this! Today morning, I had an flight at 8.30. It’s 10.50 now and the flight has still not boarded. But the flight said we were boarding and put all the passengers in the aerobridge and locked it! The passengers with small babies, elderly people have been locked in for over an hour. The security won’t open the doors. The staff has absolutely no clue!’ (sic) said the actor in a post on Instagram.

She said that the IndiGo staff told them there was a crew change, and they were waiting for the new crew to arrive and pilot the aircraft. “I managed to escape briefly to speak to the very stupid staff woman outside who kept saying there is no issue and no delay :) now I’m locked inside. And they just told us that we will be here till minimum 12pm all locked in. No water no loo. Thanks for the fun ride!!” (sic)

It is not clear how long the actor and her co-passengers were locked inside. Apte posted photos of all the passengers squatting on the carpeted floor of the aerobridge. When contacted, IndiGo said in a statement that did not address the issue of passengers being locked in: “Flight 6E 2301 from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar was delayed due to operational reasons. Passengers were kept informed about the delay. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to all our passengers.”

The flight was also delayed because of the one-hour closure of both airport runways due to the Indian Air Force Surya Kiran aerobatic show between 12 noon and 1 pm. The CSMIA had issued an advisory on January 8 about the closure of the runways due to the air show. “The Indian Air Force has planned an Aerial Display exercise at Mumbai. Due to this, Mumbai’s CSMIA runways (RWY 09/27 & 14/32) will remain non-operational from 12:00 hrs. to 13:00 hrs. on 12th, 13th and 14th January, 2024.” the airport advisory said adding, “Passengers are urged to verify their scheduled flights with their respective airlines before heading to the airport during these days. Your cooperation is appreciated.”

Sources said IndiGo’s original crew had a duty time out, and left, but the ground staff did not check if the crew was available, and began passenger boarding without. The IndiGo flight scheduled at 8.30 eventually departed at 1.52 pm and landed in Bhubaneswar at 3.37 pm instead of 10.40 am, showed the data from flightradar24.com, a live flight monitoring website.

When HT tried to reach Apte, she was not available for comment.