For another day, Indigo Airlines’ disruption dominated headlines and disrupted thousands of plans across the country. The CEO’s apology will do little to undo the damage it has done to those who had booked their flights months in advance, and who now have nothing but frustration, anger and sheer helplessness to contend with.
Behind the chaos of cancelled schedules and overflowing airport terminals lie the quieter, lesser-known stories of ordinary people who have faced personal loss, helplessness, and emotional distress.
Here are five real testimonies that reveal the human cost of the recent IndiGo fiasco:
“Someone please tell my boss not to fire me”
A now-viral video captured a young passenger X user Ayush Kuchya breaking down at an airport after waiting for hours as his IndiGo flight was repeatedly delayed. His tearful plea — “Someone please tell my boss not to fire me” — showed how unpredictable cancellations can put livelihoods at risk, leaving travellers anxious, ashamed, and powerless.
A Bengaluru women carrying her father’s ashes, unable to complete the last rites
Namita, who was headed to Delhi and then onward to Dehradun for her father’s asthi visarjan, said her flight was cancelled without prior intimation, leaving her devastated and unsure of how to reach on time. Trapped between grief and helplessness — a reminder that delays can sometimes strike at the most vulnerable moments of life. She was left stranded at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on Friday — fearing she may miss the final rites scheduled in Haridwar.
Newlywed couple attends their own reception virtually
In a widely shared tweet, a newly married techie couple was shown attending their Hubbali wedding reception over a video call after their IndiGo flight from Bhubaneswar was cancelled. Guests watched the bride and groom on a big screen while the bride’s parents sat on the stage in their place. What should have been a joyful evening turned into a distant, awkward celebration — a memory the couple will never forget.
A 10-hour delay derails a medical trip
A Dubai resident travelling to Mumbai for medical check-ups reported waiting nearly ten hours as his flight was pushed back repeatedly. Other passengers worried about visa expiry — some narrowly avoided penalties, while a few were stranded as their visas expired during the delay. Flights to Ahmedabad and Kozhikode were also severely disrupted, adding to the mounting frustration.
A father pleading for sanitary pads for his daughter
A viral clip (X user Apurva Bhardwaj tweeted) showed a distressed father begging airline staff for sanitary pads for his teenage daughter after hours of being stuck at the airport. “Meri beti ko sanitary pad chahiye,” he cried, as he described how blood was staining her clothes. His desperation highlighted how prolonged delays without basic support can strip passengers of dignity and expose serious gaps in care.
In a time when IndiGo’s systems and management failures dominate headlines, these stories remind us that behind every delayed flight is a real person with real stakes. Policy violations, crew shortages, and operational lapses may explain the disruption — but the emotional, familial, and financial toll on passengers is far harder to quantify.
Air travel promises convenience. For thousands of IndiGo flyers this week, it delivered distress instead.