IndiGo’s image may take a hit after poor management of flight delays

Bengaluru: India’s largest airline IndiGo, which has made 'on time performance' its unique selling point, appears to have taken a dent in its image, evident by the spate of complaints and hostility on social media the budget carrier has received off late owing to its poor management of flight delays and cancellations.

“We will be filing a complaint for the trauma we have been doled out yesterday by @IndiGo6E in the name of air travel,” Bollywood celebrity Ranvir Shorey wote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, as he narrated his experience on a January 14 IndiGo flight, which took off 10 hours after the originally scheduled time.

This comes after Delhi witnessed unprecedented fog on Sunday leading to zero visibility intermittently between 5:00 - 9:00 am and resulting in delay, diversion or cancellation of over 400 flights. However, IndiGo passengers who spoke to DH, stated scheduling conflicts and shortage of crew, pilots as other issues witnessed during their flying experience with the airline, much before winter set in. 

In a disturbing incident on Sunday, a passenger on board IndiGo flight 6E2175 flying from Delhi to Goa, assaulted the first officer of the flight while he was announcing a delay in take off.

“As per protocol, the passenger was declared unruly and handed over to the local law enforcement agencies for further action. The incident is being referred to the independent internal committee for appropriate action and inclusion of the passenger on the 'no-fly list' as laid down in regulatory guidelines,” IndiGo said in a statement released on Monday.

There were other videos and photos, of people being left stranded at an aerobridge, and another set of passengers sitting on the tarmac, both instances tied to Indigo, and both at Mumbai airport. 

“A lot of airport delays are outside the control of an airline, which means what they can do is manage the fallout from it. That’s where IndiGo has been lacking. Being the market leader comes with a certain bit of responsibility and they don’t do a good job of handling delays, dealing with passengers, explaining early enough and being transparent,” said Santosh Desai, managing director and chief executive of brand consulting and management firm Futurebrands India Ltd.

Others agreed. “When events happen, they happen at scale as far as IndiGo is concerned. Therefore, it touches a lot more people. But scale needs to be managed and managed well,” added business and brand strategy specialist Harish Bijoor.

DH also spoke to the airline to understand its next steps towards dealing with the fallout of its mismanagement in recent times. “All airlines and airports have been impacted equally. But given the scale of operations that we have it seems that the impact is harsh on us,” an IndiGo spokesperson said.

“I totally follow the diktat that we need to be responsible for managing all kinds of situations, being the market leader in this space, but at the same time there is always room for improvement, and we are on it,” the spokesperson added.

Aviation watchdog - Directorate General of Civil Aviation -  on Monday asked airlines to publish accurate real-time information tied to flight delays and appropriately sensitise airport staff to suitably communicate with passengers amid fog-related disruptions at airports.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation's data, IndiGo ranked last in terms of 'on time performance' on January 14, with only 21% punctual flights.