Kolkata: Weddings — the one occasion families plan for months and guard with all their hearts — have emerged as the most unexpected casualties of IndiGo's ongoing flight meltdown. What began as delays and cancellations has now snowballed into missed ceremonies, lost luggage, and frantic outfit hunts, as many were forced to borrow or rent outfits from fellow guests — in some cases even from the bride and groom — just to attend the occasion.
For many, the nightmare began even before they reached the airport. Mohul Chowdhry (30), was headed from Bengaluru to Kolkata on Dec 3 for her cousin's wedding in Naihati. Her flight was cancelled en route to the airport, rescheduled for the next day, then delayed by nearly 24 hours. She finally flew out on Friday evening, only to realise she missed the wedding. "To make things worse, my checked-in luggage was missing," she said. "Two days have passed, and we are yet to get it back. All my expensive clothes and jewellery are there. I have another wedding on the Dec 11. If the luggage doesn't arrive, I'll have to buy or borrow everything. It's embarrassing."
Delhi resident Sheenu Saini (24), had her Dec 4 ticket rescheduled thrice before she reached Kolkata on Saturday, without her luggage. "I missed my sister's wedding on Friday. On Sunday, I spent most of the day at the airport searching for my bag. IndiGo told me it was at Kolkata airport, but officials here said I was misinformed. I had to attend the reception wearing jeans and a T-shirt I bought that morning. I fly back on Monday. I don't know how I'll ever get my bag."
An estimated 46 lakh weddings are scheduled across India between Nov 1 and Dec 14, involving nearly 92 lakh travellers. In Karnataka's Hubballi, the fallout took a surreal turn when a newlywed couple was forced to attend their own reception virtually. They were to fly from Bhubaneswar but never made it to Karnataka in time, leaving guests staring at a screen instead of a stage.
The disaster has not spared pre-wedding celebrations either. Rimisha Das, a student from Kolkata, was set to join the bachelorette of her best friend in Goa with other friends. While others made it from other cities, she not only missed the bachelorette but even the actual wedding on Saturday.
For Ahmedabad resident Tilak Ganguly (67), the ordeal meant attending a wedding in Kolkata with borrowed clothes after his and his daughter and son-in-law's delayed flight from Bengaluru, arrived without their luggage.