Patna: Patna’s Jayprakash Narayan International Airport faced another difficult day on Sunday as 36 flights were cancelled, leaving passengers in distress and forcing many to change or cancel their travel plans. The disruption, which began on 3 December due to operational issues at IndiGo, has continued to affect daily flight schedules. On Sunday alone, 18 incoming and 18 outgoing flights were cancelled, most of them belonging to IndiGo, along with two pairs from SpiceJet.
Passengers at the airport said they were left waiting for long hours with very little information from airline staff. Display boards kept changing, announcements were unclear and many travellers struggled to understand whether their flights would depart at all. Several people missed important meetings, connecting flights and personal commitments due to the sudden cancellations and delays.
Despite the heavy disruption, 25 pairs of flights from IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express and SpiceJet did operate through the day, offering some relief. To help distressed passengers, airport authorities issued two helpline numbers — 0612-220797 and 9471000714 — where travellers can register complaints or seek assistance at any time. Officials said they were trying to manage the situation as smoothly as possible, but passengers continued to report confusion and exhaustion.
This wave of cancellations comes after 52 IndiGo flights were scrapped on Friday and 24 on Saturday, along with four from SpiceJet. Key routes were hit the hardest, including four pairs of flights to Delhi, three to Kolkata, and several to Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. Delays of up to two hours added to the frustration, especially as large numbers of people are currently travelling from Patna to Delhi by air, train and bus. With flight services disrupted, airfares shot up suddenly, but the fare cap implemented by the Ministry of Civil Aviation is now helping bring prices back to normal levels.
For now, passengers hope the situation stabilises soon, as uncertainty continues to affect thousands of travellers passing through Patna each day.
