Patna: The winter wedding season in Bihar has brought unexpected heartbreak for hundreds of newlyweds—not from family disputes or post-wedding stress, but from sudden and repeated IndiGo flight cancellations. For many couples, carefully planned honeymoons turned into distressing ordeals, leaving them stranded with lost money, exhausted leave, and ruined dreams.
For Patna residents Lata and Anand, the disappointment is still raw.
“Four days after the wedding, we planned to go on a trip and have a lot of fun. We booked the entire package with an agent. But IndiGo ruined everything,” Lata said, her voice breaking as she recalled how she and her husband had spent over Rs 1 lakh on advance bookings for travel, hotels, and sightseeing. “Now everything is disrupted, and we’re not getting any refunds.”
The couple married on December 1 and were to fly out on December 5. But their flight was cancelled without prior notice. When they tried again on December 7, the second attempt also met the same fate.
“This pain isn’t just ours,” Anand added. “Around 650 couples across Bihar are going through the same trouble.”
Daily Cancellations, No Clarity for Passengers
Flights of IndiGo—the country’s largest airline—continue to be cancelled from Patna, Darbhanga, Purnia, and Gaya airports. On average, 28 flights are being scrapped every day, leading to chaos at terminals and queues that stretch outside Patna airport.
Passengers look visibly distressed, shuttling between airline counters and travel agents, hoping their trip might still be salvaged. Most return disappointed.
A Dream Trip Lost: ‘We Planned for Six Months’
Lata shared how she had barely managed a 15-day leave from work to accommodate her wedding and honeymoon. “We had our flights, hotels, car bookings—everything planned. None of it is refundable. We can’t get more leave. Our whole trip fell apart in front of us.”
Anand said he hadn’t taken a single leave in six months just to save enough days for the honeymoon. “My family finally agreed to let us go on this trip. We were excited. But now we have no idea when we’ll travel. If IndiGo had to cancel flights, they should’ve informed us earlier.”
Another Couple, Another Loss: ‘Everything Was Booked’
Prince Kumar, who married in Patna on November 23, shared a similar ordeal. “Everyone dreams of traveling after marriage. I somehow managed leave for this trip. We had plans for Goa from Delhi. But the flight cancellation ruined everything. There was no notification. All our bookings are stuck.”
Rs 90,000 Package Gone, No Refund in Sight
Sonal, who was married on December 1 and was to travel to Port Blair on December 5, said the entire Rs 90,000 she spent on her honeymoon package is now blocked.
“We planned for six months. The IndiGo crisis ruined our plans overnight,” she said. “We’re not getting any refund.”
Travel Agencies Suffer Too
The crisis has hit travel companies as well. Saurabh Khemka of Suvidha Tours and Travels said 25 couple packages were cancelled just from his office.
“These were bookings for Kerala, Goa, Dubai, Thailand, Singapore, Port Blair, Bali… Many hotel owners are refusing refunds. Even a couple in Dubai who booked Burj Khalifa tickets for Rs 4,000 per person haven’t received refunds yet,” he said. “Around 650 couples across Bihar have cancelled plans. This has caused more mental stress than financial loss.”
Rs 25 Lakh Loss Reported by Patna Travel Firms
Gokhalesh Kumar of RPS Travels said 20 out of 40 honeymoon packages booked with his agency had to be cancelled.
“We’ve lost nearly Rs 25 lakh this season. Destinations like Goa, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, and Port Blair were heavily booked. Everything is disrupted,” he said.
Peak Season Collapses Amid Cancellations
Between December 5 and 20, travel demand from Patna usually spikes due to honeymoons and year-end holidays. Destinations like Kerala, Manali, Gangtok, and Port Blair are especially popular.
Patna alone has over 100 travel agencies, and more than 2,000 tour packages have been cancelled this season—of which over 650 were for honeymoon couples.
Most honeymoon packages offered from Patna are 4-to-6-day itineraries costing between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh. For many newlyweds, these trips aren’t just vacations—they’re the first memories of a life together.
This year, those memories remain suspended, lost in a crisis that shows no signs of resolving soon.
