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‘ ₹2.65 lakh down the drain’: Passenger claims IndiGo denied boarding on Jaipur-Mumbai flight
A LinkedIn user alleged that poor communication by IndiGo staff caused him to miss a crucial flight, leading to the loss of a ₹2.65 lakh client deal.
A passenger took to LinkedIn to allege that poor handling by IndiGo staff at Jaipur airport caused him to miss a crucial flight and led to the loss of a client deal worth ₹2.65 lakh.
The passenger, Chayan Garg, detailed the incident in a lengthy post titled “Indigo, you're going down”, where he recounted how a routine work trip from Jaipur to Mumbai turned into a costly fiasco.
Airline responds
In response to the LinkedIn post, IndiGo issued a statement acknowledging the passenger’s frustration while maintaining that standard procedures were followed.
"Dear Mr Garg, we understand how disappointing it can be to miss a flight, and our carefully planned travel gets disrupted. However, as per our review, the boarding gate closed 25 minutes before departure, in line with standard procedure. Unfortunately, your arrival was after gate closure, by which time final preparations for take-off were already underway. Our airport team offered the next available flight to support you, and while we respect your decision not to proceed with it, we genuinely appreciate your patience and understanding. At IndiGo, we are committed to continuously working towards smoother, more seamless journeys for all our customers," the airline said in a comment.
What did the IndiGo passenger say?
According to Garg, the day began as planned. “I reached the airport at 4:40 AM, cleared security by 5:10 AM, and was told by the Indigo executive that boarding would begin in 10–15 minutes,” he wrote.
Seeing that the boarding gate was crowded, Garg said he decided to use the washroom briefly before boarding commenced. “When I came back after 12 minutes, I was told boarding was closed. I was literally surprised as the boarding was supposed to start, not end,” he claimed.
Garg further alleged that there were no announcements about the closing of the gate. When he questioned the staff, he was informed that Jaipur airport is a “silent airport”, where public announcements are limited. However, Garg pointed out that “just minutes earlier, there was an announcement for the Dehradun flight from IndiGo.” When he raised this inconsistency, he claimed that “the staff denied it straight to my face.”
Despite pleading with staff and explaining the urgency of his client meeting, Garg said he was not allowed to board and was offered no alternative. “No alternate option. No help with the next flight. No refund. No empathy,” he wrote.
The consequences were severe, Garg claimed: “We lost the client. ₹2.65 lakh down the drain. A month’s effort gone in seconds.”
He also expressed broader concerns about customer experience in India’s aviation industry. “It’s about accountability. It’s about humanity... The least we expect is a fair and transparent process or even just a little kindness,” he wrote, adding that he left the airport feeling “powerless, angry, and sad.”
He ended the post by tagging consumer advocate Revant Himatsingka and asking for advice from anyone in the aviation industry about pursuing a refund or compensation. “I’m genuinely clueless right now.”
Take a look at the post:
Many took to the comments section to react. A user wrote, “I cannot imagine the number of people who have gone through something similar but were never properly compensated because they lack platform and people who would listen and I really hope this post helps all of them.”
Another argued, "This is strange, same flight, same situation, just from mumbai to jaipur, they literally gave me a call on my phone saying I am "late" and need to hurry up."
