Mumbai: A technical glitch slowed down the online systems of India's leading airline IndiGo on Saturday, affecting everything from ticket bookings to check-ins at airports nationwide. As a result, numerous IndiGo flyers across all airports were left stranded, while several cancelled their important trips. Flyers lambasting IndiGo Airlines for frequent delays and poor service has become common lately, now investors have joined the league. Ace investor and a shareholder in IndiGo Airlines, Vijay Kedia on Sunday took to social media to warn IndiGo about its decline.
"Don’t let arrogance lead to your downfall. Without improvements, Indigo will face the consequences of its own decline," Kedia said slamming the airline management.
I think indigo can run buses better
— Pawan Singh (@TigerKumSingh) October 5, 2024
Addressing to Indigo Management, Kedia wrote, "Indigo currently holds 62% of the market share, but competition is growing. Air India is catching up, several struggling airlines are reviving, and new entrants are on the way. If these issues aren’t addressed, people will shift to other options.
"Earlier, Indigo was always my first choice. Now, it’s my last. Given an alternative, most passengers would choose you only as a last resort," Kedia, an ace Indian investor said.
15 minutes before the scheduled departure, I received message regarding cancellation of my flight.
— Sanjeet Purohit (@PurohitSanjeet) October 6, 2024
This kind of harassment they do and it's common for them.
The passengers are highlighting that IndiGo's monopoly in Indian aviation market has led the company to arrogance. 'Monopolies make companies feel they are unbeatable," commented author, and financial freedom coach Manoj Arora.
What Happened On Saturday
The technical glitch started at 12:30 pm and affected everything from online bookings to check-ins at airports across India. The company first acknowledged the glitch at 1:44 pm, citing a 'temporary system slowdown across our network'. All major airports were saddled with long queues with passengers left without any satisfactory answers. Stranded flyers at busy airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata took social media to report their plight. Some even got handwritten boarding passes.
This is chaos! Why hasn’t @DGCAIndia stepped in and sought accountability from @IndiGo6E ? Not heard a word from either the airline or the authorities.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) October 5, 2024
Passengers continue to be at the mercy of these airlines. https://t.co/zFUZC9G7lX
Around 6 pm, the airline reported that part of the network that handled airport operations was restored and added that 'it may take a little time' to achieve full normalcy.
However, the delays continued on Sunday too with passengers and their family members taking social media to launch complaints. The airline customer care is busy giving generic replies to stranded flyers.
We regret the delay in our response due to a high volume of mentions. Our team is working hard to catch up and respond to every query as soon as possible. We look forward to serving you better in the future. ~Vaishali
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) October 6, 2024
IndiGo, India's leading and budget-friendly carrier operates close to 2,000 flights on average and holds over 60 per cent market share in India’s domestic airline sector. According to flight tracking website Flight Aware, IndiGo accounted for the most number of flights delayed globally- 889 of close to 9,900 running behind schedule on Saturday, reports say.