An Indigo flight, 6E6162, bound for Mangaluru, allegedly left behind six passengers at Bengaluru International Airport. According to reports, the flight departed at 2.45 pm, ten minutes ahead of its scheduled departure time of 2.55 pm. Two of the stranded passengers claimed they had boarding passes but still missed the flight. When questioned, Indigo staff stated that an early departure announcement was made at the airport.
To compensate for the inconvenience caused, the six passengers were provided free tickets for the next flight, 6E578, which was scheduled to depart at 8.20 pm but took off at 8.45 pm. They eventually reached Mangaluru Airport at 9.50 pm. Unfortunately, this incident caused two of the passengers to miss their connecting flights to Delhi.
An Indigo employee from the Customer Experience wing refuted the allegation of an early departure, stating that the flight left the gate at 2.43 pm and departed the airport at 2.57 pm. He clarified that departure time is considered when the aircraft is off the ground. Nevertheless, he apologized for the inconvenience faced by the passengers and promised to investigate the matter with the management and operations team.
The employee advised customers to arrive at the airport two hours prior to departure, as the boarding gate is usually closed 25 minutes before takeoff, but this timing can vary due to ATC instructions or other reasons. He also mentioned that passengers should reach the airport one hour before the scheduled departure, and in this case, the passengers who missed the flight were late by 15-20 minutes.
When asked about the decision to provide free flight tickets to the stranded passengers, an Indigo spokesperson gave a vague response, stating it is ‘very subjective,’ and they consider factors such as ticket availability and the circumstances of passengers, including senior citizens and expecting mothers.
In conclusion, the incident involving the alleged early departure has caused inconvenience to some passengers, but the airline has taken measures to accommodate them on the next available flight while promising to address the issue internally.
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