As passengers were stranded at the Istanbul airport for hours due to flight delays to New Delhi and Mumbai, IndiGo apologized for the inconvenience and assured that the issue would be resolved soon.
According to reports and social media accounts, around 400 passengers traveling on IndiGo flights to New Delhi and Mumbai were stranded at the airport for over 24 hours.
“We are aware of the delay in IndiGo flight connections in Istanbul. We give high priority to customer convenience and teams are available at all contact points to assist customers. IndiGo apologizes for the inconvenience caused to customers,” IndiGo said in a statement.
An airline source said that necessary arrangements have been made to take care of the stranded passengers. Accommodation has been provided to those with valid Turkish visas, while other passengers have been assisted by accommodation in lounges at the airport, the source added.
Passengers, meanwhile, took to social media platforms to voice their problems. Anushree Bhansali, a flier, wrote on X: “After months of saving to book a flight home to India, I’m now stuck in Istanbul, tired and sick, thanks to your delays and cancellations! Delayed twice by an hour, canceled without notice, rescheduled after 12 hours, no details or final confirmation!
She added, “There is no IndiGo representative at the airport, no accommodation or food vouchers, and I am sick with fever now! My worried parents cannot contact IndiGo through calls—no one picks up, and over 400 passengers are stuck without any support.”
Another passenger, Parshva Mehta, said: “Hey @IndiGo6E, your handling of flight 6E0018 from Istanbul to Mumbai on Dec 12 has been a disaster. Scheduled to depart at 8:15 PM, it was delayed to 11 PM the same day. Well, we waited. It was then pushed to 10am the next day. What’s going on?”
Explaining the situation at the airport, he added: “To make matters worse, no one from IndiGo was present at the gate to explain the situation. The news came from the Turkish Airlines crew, and there was no formal announcement – just complete chaos.
IndiGo has only two Boeing 777s on lease to operate flights between Istanbul and India. According to data from Flightradar24, the first major delay on Istanbul-Delhi flight 6E12 occurred on December 11. The flight was supposed to depart Istanbul at 8:15 local time but finally took off around 5:00 the next day. As a result, flights to and from Istanbul were also affected as the same aircraft operated these flights, according to flight tracking data.
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