Flight Delays, Cancellations Hit Bhubaneswar Airport as IndiGo Operations Disrupted
Bureau,Odishabarta
BHUBANESWAR: With IndiGo’s nationwide crisis entering the fourth day on Friday, flight operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar were severely affected, with mass cancellations and delays.
BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan said 24 flights were cancelled on Friday and over 40 were delayed. Some of the flights whose departure was cancelled from BPIA included Hyderabad, Patna and Mumbai. An international flight to Indonesia was also cancelled.
IndiGo operates about 34 arrivals and as many departures from BPIA on an average everyday. The crisis has resulted in thousands of passengers being stranded in the capital city, leaving them with no immediate alternatives.
The disruption has also led to unusual situations like a wedding reception being held at Huballi in Karnataka with the newlywed couple joining the event via online video call from Bhubaneswar as their flight was cancelled and they could not find any other way to reach there.
While the groom hails from Bhubaneswar, the bride is a native of Hubballi.
Flight services by Indigo airline were severely affected at Bhubaneswar Airport on Thursday, leading to multiple delays and cancellations. Passenger reported long wait times, uncertainty over connecting flights, and problems with luggage delivery.
Several has been cancelled. The Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru flight was delayed by more than 30 minutes. Flights to Kolkata and Singapore were also operating behind schedule. The Bhubaneswar to Dehradun flight was cancelled.
Another major inconvenience emerged after the airline cancelled the flight, which was scheduled to take passengers to Shirdi via Chennai. The passengers said IndiGo shifted their tickets to the next day with a connecting flight via Hyderabad.
IndiGo facing operational issues
According to initial information, IndiGo is facing operational issues arising from staff shortage, particularly pilots, as well as technical problems across its fleet. These disruptions have affected services nationwide. The airline has said it is working to stabilise operations and resolve the issues at the earliest.
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