IndiGo on Saturday announced the resumption of nine of its 11 flights from the Jammu Airport, but cancelled seven flights from Srinagar, owing to the nationwide disruptions caused by the airline's pilot-rostering issues.
The resumption of flights from Jammu brought much-needed respite to travellers who were left stranded at the airport after a series of cancellations. On the contrary, a total of eight flights -- seven operated by IndiGo -- stood cancelled at the Srinagar International Airport.
The airline was scheduled to operate 36 flights from the Srinagar airport on Saturday, 18 inbound and 18 outbound, officials said.
However, owing to rostering issues, IndiGo cancelled seven arriving and as many departing flights, they said, adding that to and fro movement of another flight from a separate airline was also cancelled.
Further details were awaited, the officials said.
While the nine restored services will operate as scheduled at Jammu Airport, an airline official said two flights -- connecting Jammu with Mumbai and Hyderabad -- will remain suspended for now.
“I am going back to Delhi, my flight is working today,” a relieved passenger, Rajni Goyal, told PTI at Jammu Airport.
Goyal, who had travelled to the city to attend a marriage function, said she faced severe inconvenience over the past two days due to repeated cancellations.
“They were not informing us about the correct status of the flight. We kept waiting for nine hours a day at the airport. I had left my child at home and he was also waiting for me,” she said, expressing relief as services resumed.
Kashish, another stranded passenger, said that although the partial restoration of services offers some respite, uncertainty still lingers.
“I am not sure whether I will actually fly to my destination because only nine of the 11 flights are operating today,” he said.
Calling the situation “unprofessional and very sad,” he said, “we have paid the money and want the service. If they had any internal issue, they should have resolved it amicably without troubling the passengers.”
He alleged that fares of other airlines had surged from around Rs 4,000 to Rs 30,000 following the cancellations, while trains were running full. “I feel there is a nexus in all this,” he claimed.