‘They cancelled my flight, then said it flew without me’: Left behind, Pune businessman awaits refund from IndiGo

“At 12.11 am, I received a message saying my flight was delayed to 6.05 am. At 12.31 am, another message came, saying the flight was cancelled. It was the middle of the night. With a clear cancellation message in hand, I decided there was no point rushing to the airport and went back to sleep. Then, at 3.29 am, another message arrived saying the flight was delayed to 6.45 am. I saw that message when I woke up. First, it was delayed, then it was cancelled, then suddenly, it was back on the schedule,” he said.

Radhakrishnan was in for a rude shock when he discovered that the flight had already departed. “I was marked as a ‘no-show’. They cancelled my flight, then said it flew without me. How could I possibly show up when the airline itself told me the flight was cancelled?” he asked.

Radhakrishnan was among the lakhs of air passengers in the country whose travel plans went awry last week, as India’s largest airline faced large-scale disruptions primarily due to crew shortages following newly enforced Flight Duty Time Limitation rules. The IndiGo crisis threw commercial flight operations out of gear all over the country.

Girish Radhakrishnan, a 59-year-old businessman. (Express Photo)

“This kind of miscommunication creates confusion, anxiety, and real financial loss. I am 59 years old, and like many passengers, I spent the night stressed, staring at my phone, unsure whether my flight was going to depart or not,” Radhakrishnan said.

“Because of this chaos, I missed multiple pre-scheduled appointments, lost money on travel plans, and had to cancel my return ticket as well, but thankfully under the full-refund advisory. But for my onward journey, despite sending repeated emails, there has been no response from IndiGo so far,” he added.

With IndiGo being the only airline operating a direct flight between Pune and Coimbatore, Radhakrishnan said he “can’t even blacklist them.”

“What troubles me the most is not just the loss of money, but the complete absence of accountability. If a company makes an error of this scale, shouldn’t they at least proactively explain, apologise, and refund their customers?” he adds.

‘Only asking for honesty, accountability, and a refund’

While the government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted IndiGo a few temporary relaxations, they have initiated an inquiry into the disruption and issued show-cause notices to the airline’s CEO and COO.

Radhakrishnan said he has written to IndiGo’s customer service, with copies marked to the DGCA. “There has been no response from any authority. That raises a serious question. If a passenger feels cheated and the airline does not respond, whom do we approach?” he asked.

“There is no clearly announced grievance authority, no helpline, and no system visible to the public. People who barely manage to afford airfare, like students or patients, are being left stranded without any help,” he added.

Radhakrishnan alleged that the airline’s actions were “not accidental”. “When passengers are told a flight is cancelled and later marked as no-shows, it conveniently prevents refunds. Whether this is an operational failure or something deeper, only transparency can answer that,” he said.

“Today it was me. Tomorrow, it could be someone with a medical emergency or worse…I am only asking for honesty, accountability, and a proper refund. The government must clearly announce where passengers should file complaints when airlines fail to resolve issues. Silence only protects powerful companies and abandons ordinary citizens,” Radhakrishnan said.

Ruta Patil is an intern with The Indian Express

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