With IndiGo flights in turmoil, Railways comes to the rescue
New Delhi: The Northern Railway has stepped in to support hundreds of travellers left stranded due to widespread disruptions in air travel after IndiGo cancelled a large number of flights on Friday. With passenger movement severely affected across Jammu and Kashmir, rail authorities announced that an additional 3rd AC coach will be
attached to the Jammu–New Delhi Rajdhani Express for the next seven days.
The extra coach, offering 72 seats, will be available from Friday night onwards. Officials said the temporary measure aims to provide immediate relief to passengers who have been unable to fly out because of day-long cancellations. According to Railways officers in Jammu, the move was taken after it became evident that air traffic would remain unstable for the next few days.
Air travel came to a halt across several cities on Friday morning, with IndiGo cancelling 10 of its 18 scheduled flights in Srinagar and seven out of nine flights operating from Jammu. Similar disruptions were reported at other major airports as the airline struggled to stabilise its operations.
Passengers at the Jammu airport expressed anger after repeated flight cancellations left them stranded without clear communication. Many held protests inside the terminal, alleging that the airline did not address their concerns or offer prompt assistance.
Nationwide, nearly 500 flights were estimated to have been cancelled by noon, leading to long queues, delays and widespread confusion at airports. Delhi, which serves as IndiGo’s primary hub and handles close to 230 domestic flights of the carrier daily, saw all its domestic departures cancelled until midnight.
Airports in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad also reported delays and increasing cancellations as the airline worked to manage its schedule. On Thursday, IndiGo had informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that operational disruptions would likely continue for another two to three days.
With air travel uncertain, the Railways’ decision to add capacity on high-demand routes is expected to provide commuters an alternative means of reaching the capital amid the ongoing chaos in the aviation sector.
