Pune airport faces chaos as flight delays and cancellations leave hundreds stranded for over 12 hours due to crew shortages and parking issues.
Chaos reigned for the second straight day on Wednesday at Pune airport as flight delays and cancellations mounted, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded, exhausted, and increasingly angry. What began as a crew shortage disrupting multiple IndiGo flights has now snowballed into an airport-wide gridlock affecting all carriers.
According to the latest update from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Pune, eight arrivals and eight departures have been cancelled, 11 aircraft remain parked on the ground, and 19 flights are running more than an hour late. With aircraft occupying parking bays far beyond their scheduled turnaround time, incoming flights have been unable to dock, triggering a chain reaction of delays.
Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke said that the cascading effect has pushed the airport’s infrastructure to its limits. “The extended ground presence of multiple IndiGo aircraft awaiting operating crew is the primary cause. When aircraft remain parked beyond their turnaround time, they block bays needed for incoming flights. This severely restricts capacity and creates sequential delays for arrivals and departures. The impact is not limited to one airline — every carrier is affected when bays are blocked. Our teams are working continuously to manage congestion, coordinate with airlines, and restore normalcy,” he said.
Despite efforts by the terminal management, security, apron services and passenger facilitation teams, flyers have been left waiting for hours on end without clear communication about revised departure times. Several passengers said that they have been at the airport for more than 12 hours.
One flyer on condition of anonymity said, “Stuck at Pune airport for more than five hours. Woke up at 1 am for a 5 am flight, sleep-deprived, and even now the response by the crew is ‘we don’t know if or when the flight will take off’. After a wait of more than 12 hours, the flight is now cancelled.”
Another passenger, Sandeep Ranade, said, “Chaos at Pune airport. People are waiting for more than 12 hours. Please look into it urgently.”
The disruption has also hit passengers flying into Pune from other cities. Srinivas Avula, who was scheduled to travel from Hyderabad, said, “We have been at Hyderabad airport from 6 pm yesterday till 9 am today — over 12 hours — with no action by IndiGo regarding the Pune flight. We are left without proper information despite repeated follow-ups.”
Closer home, Shubham Sharma, travelling from Pune to Delhi, said that his IndiGo flight had already been delayed by more than three-and-a-half hours. “There are many flyers who have been waiting at the airport for more than 12 hours,” he said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/chaos-continues-for-second-day-at-pune-airport-as-flight-delays-cancellations-pile-up-101764874372207.html