Chaos at Delhi airport over SpiceJet delay

Dhaka:  Tensions ran high at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday (July 28) after a SpiceJet flight to Ahmedabad was delayed multiple times, prompting frustrated passengers to stage a protest at the boarding gate.

The affected flight, SG 9213, was originally scheduled to depart at 1:10 p.m. but faced a series of delays throughout the day.

According to passengers, the departure time kept changing—from 3:40 p.m. to 6:40 p.m., then 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., and finally 9:30 p.m.—before the flight eventually took off later that night.

In response, passengers expressed their anger by sitting on the floor and raising slogans at the terminal. One of them, Vaibhavi Chauhan, who was travelling to Ahmedabad for a crucial undergraduate exam, criticized the airline’s handling of the situation and alleged that the staff was uncooperative.

“After mounting pressure, we were given some refreshments, but there was still uncertainty about which flight would actually fly to Ahmedabad,” Chauhan said. “I have a presentation tomorrow and must reach Gandhinagar by morning.”

SpiceJet, addressing the incident, cited operational reasons for the delay and claimed that passengers were kept informed through regular updates. The airline also noted that the delay was linked to safety considerations.

However, for many travellers like Chauhan, alternative options offered by the airline—such as a flight the following day at 12:30 p.m.—were not viable due to time-sensitive commitments.

-B