IndiGo dispatches 2 planes to bring back passengers stranded in Istanbul due to flight cancellation | Business News

“IndiGo flight 6E 12, operating from Istanbul to Delhi, was cancelled due to a technical issue. Alternative aircraft have been arranged to transport passengers to their destination. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and appreciate their understanding in this matter,” the airline said in a statement on Saturday.

On Friday night, IndiGo had said that disruptions of the previous two days had been sorted and operations on the Istanbul routes had been normalised. However, Friday night’s flight from Istanbul to Delhi ended up being affected again. IndiGo flies daily between Delhi and Istanbul and Mumbai and Istanbul. Flights to Istanbul from both Indian cities depart early morning (India time), while the return flights from Istanbul depart late in the evening (Turkey time).

IndiGo operates its flights to and from Istanbul using its two wet-leased wide-body Boeing 777s, which have more than double the seating capacity of the airline’s regular narrow-body Airbus A320 family planes. These two 777s are used only for IndiGo flights to and from Istanbul. The wide gap in the passenger capacity between the 777s and the A320 family planes is the reason why IndiGo is sending two aircraft to Istanbul to bring back the stranded passengers.

According to flight-tracking data, the first major delay on the Istanbul-Delhi flight 6E12 was on Wednesday (December 11). The flight was supposed to depart from Istanbul at 8:15 pm local time but finally took off at around 5 pm the next day, which had a cascading effect on IndiGo’s service to and from Turkey. Thursday’s Istanbul-Mumbai flight was also delayed by nearly 16 hours. Consequently, return flights to Istanbul were also hit as the same aircraft was to operate these flights, per flight tracking data.

“Due to technical issues, IndiGo flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Istanbul experienced delays. This led to cascading delays in the return sectors. All necessary steps were taken to ensure customers were apprised, and they were provided with refreshments and accommodation, where possible. We regret the inconvenience caused to customers and appreciate their understanding and patience,” the airline said on Friday night with regard to disruptions that started Wednesday.

“The Consulate was in touch with the airlines regularly and responding to all calls from the passengers. The flights were delayed due to a technical issue related to safety. The passengers were provided lounge, stay, and food. The flights had finally departed Istanbul after the necessary checks,” the Consulate General of India in Istanbul posted on social media platform X regarding flight disruptions that had taken place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Regarding the latest disruption involving Friday’s Istanbul-Delhi flight, the Consulate General said that it was responding to all the calls of passengers under any distress and its phone lines continued to be open.

Many passengers had complained on social media that IndiGo and its partner Turkish Airline were mishandling the situation. They alleged that they were not being kept properly informed about the delays and cancellations, and were not provided food and accommodation. Sources in IndiGo said that it had made the necessary arrangements to take care of stranded passengers. Those with valid Turkish visas were provided with accommodation outside the airport, while other passengers were assisted at the airport by accommodating them in lounges, as they could not have entered Istanbul without a valid Turkish visa, IndiGo sources said.