Kolkata: After the weekend reset, IndiGo Airlines made a fresh start on Monday, operating nearly three out of four flights that it used to operate before last week's debacle. Passengers entering the airport terminal appeared a bit anxious, but smiles were back on faces of those arriving by IndiGo flights as most of them operated on time.
Order also returned to the airport that witnessed chaotic scenes last week, when hundreds of distressed passengers squabbled with harried airline ground staff. On Monday, the ground staff regained their composure; smiles replaced the anxiety that was writ large on their faces last week.
Among those pleasantly surprised were those who needed to travel urgently and booked an IndiGo flight over the weekend because it was affordable. But there were also many who had flights scheduled last week that were cancelled, and they were travelling on the rescheduled flights on Monday.
Among the latter was Alok Gupta, an engineer who works in Bengaluru. He was originally scheduled to fly out to Bengaluru on Sunday, but his flight got rescheduled thrice before the airline messaged him to opt for a refund post-cancellation. Gupta refused and insisted on a rescheduled flight as he knew fares escalated. The engineer from Hooghly was unsure about the fate of his travel to Bengaluru when he and his family started for the airport from their home in Singur on Monday.
"They finally put us on an evening flight on Monday. Given the 7-8 hour delays and cancellations that plagued IndiGo flights last week, I was prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the flight information display board show that the flight was operating on time. Thankfully, it took off on time as well," he said.
Chinsurah resident Abhilash Samanta was worried his son would miss more classes after their flight to Hyderabad was cancelled on Thursday and was not rescheduled until Monday evening. "IndiGo asked us to cancel all four tickets. But we refused and asked the airline to offer us an alternative flight as we couldn't afford a new ticket at such a steep fare. Finally, on Monday, the airline offered us an afternoon flight. We were uncertain if the flight would be cancelled again. But finally, it was a relief as the flight took off for Hyderabad," said Samanta, a goldsmith.
Airport officials said a DGCA official who carried out an inspection at the airport check-in area and the security hold to see if IndiGo's operations were underway smoothly expressed satisfaction over the situation. "At Kolkata airport, we are almost back to normal," an Airports Authority of India official said.