SRINAGAR/JAMMU, Dec 5: Jammu and Kashmir’s major airports descended into pandemonium Friday as IndiGo scrapped 13 flights each from Srinagar and Jammu—24 in total—due to nationwide pilot rostering failures, igniting protests from enraged travelers left high and dry amid mounting frustration.
Srinagar Terminal Erupts in Anger
Srinagar airport, expecting 36 IndiGo movements (18 arrivals, 18 departures), saw half collapse as 13 inbound and 13 outbound flights vanished, sparking chaotic demonstrations. A Kolkata passenger, Rishabh Kumar, recounted his ordeal: rerouted via Srinagar from Kolkata to Delhi, promised seamless connections, only to face four hours of neglect. “They rescheduled to 1:15 pm, then cancelled outright—no help from IndiGo or authorities,” he fumed, having tagged aviation minister on X after similar Kolkata chaos.
A Kerala couple, Hidayatullah and family, stranded en route home for a vital function, lamented morning “on-time” status flipping to cancellation. “No flights today or tomorrow—maybe day after. Hotel costs pile up,” the husband sighed, highlighting the human toll. Officials quelled the unrest swiftly but admitted mounting pressure.
Jammu Chaos Mirrors Srinagar Strife
Jammu airport mirrored the meltdown with 11 cancellations fueling long inquiry queues and vocal outrage. Pilgrim Swati, heading to Lucknow post-Vaishno Devi darshan, waited two hours fruitlessly: “Cancelled again—no answers, where do I go?” Arti Razdan, Bengaluru-bound with two kids after a wedding, vented a week’s worth of agony: originally set for Dec 2, repeatedly axed including Friday despite limited leave. “Child missed exam; no backup plan, just ‘operational issues’,” she blasted.
Harried officials faced the brunt: “Passengers vent fury; we share what we know,” one conceded amid the standoff.
Nationwide Pilot Crisis Grounds IndiGo
The disruptions stem from IndiGo’s acute pilot rostering snags, triggering mass cancellations across India—some passengers marooned up to three days. J&K travelers bore the brunt, underscoring aviation vulnerabilities in the region
