Checked In, But Nowhere To Go

Hyderabad: The disruption to air travel worsened on Saturday, with IndiGo cancelling another 144 flights, extending the crisis into its fifth consecutive day and leaving thousands of passengers scrambling for alternatives.With more than 400 cancellations since Tuesday, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) witnessed one of its worst operational breakdowns in recent years. With limited clarity from the airline and fares on remaining flights skyrocketing, desperate passengers rushed to book train tickets, only to find that most high-speed services were already sold out.Families stranded at RGIA said the crisis upended travel plans ahead of weddings, exams, job interviews, and medical appointments. "My son has an interview in Bengaluru on Monday. We missed our flight today, and there is no guarantee that IndiGo will accommodate another flight tomorrow. Even train berths are sold out," said Madhavi S, who was at the airport for hours.With no clear timeline for when flight operations will normalise, travel chaos is expected to continue through the weekend. "There are no flights, train berths are full, and buses are charging festival-like rates. I am stuck in Hyderabad without any way to travel," said Rohit Kumar, a student who planned to travel to Chennai this weekend.To cope with the sudden pressure, SCR rolled out three special trains to Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. High speed trains like Vande Bharat, Garib Rath, and Jan Shatabdi trains from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, and Pune were booked to capacity for the next two days. Even AC classes in long-distance trains vanished within minutes."We have set up a help desk at RGIA to guide and assist passengers affected by IndiGo flight cancellations. The facility is aimed at providing seamless support and necessary travel information and guiding them with available train facilities to reach their destinations," said a senior official in SCR.On the other hand, GHIAL and TGSRTC have come together to support passengers affected by ongoing airline disruptions. As a temporary measure, special TGSRTC services were made available from the airport on Saturday to help travellers reach home or onward destinations like Chennai and Bengaluru. Additional buses to Rajahmundry, Kakinada, and Vizag were also operated, said officials in RGIA.Meanwhile, IndiGo said that they are working to bring their operations back on track across the network. "Our teams are focused on stabilising schedules, reducing delays, and supporting customers through this period. The number of cancellations has dropped below 850 flights, much lower compared to yesterday. We're continuing to work towards reducing this number progressively over the next few days. We are also working closely with all airports and partners to ensure timely updates are provided to customers at terminals, on our website, and via direct notifications," IndiGo added.

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