IndiGo cancels 31 flights at Goa's Dabolim airport; tourism industry stares at drop in footfalls

Panaji, Dec 5 (PTI) The operations of IndiGo continued to be plagued by disruptions on Friday as the India's largest airline cancelled 31 domestic flights from Goa's Dabolim airport till noon.

Amid a slew of cancellations, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has advised passengers to check their latest flight status before heading to the airport.

A senior official from the AAI, which runs the Dabolim airport in South Goa, said as of 12 noon, 31 IndiGo flights were cancelled, while only seven aircraft could take off.

The official informed the number of cancellations is going increase by evening and added arrangements have been made in coordination with the private airline for facilitating passengers for cancellations or re-bookings.

The cancelled flights were scheduled to depart for multiple destinations, including Bengaluru, Surat, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Indore, Mumbai and Bhopal, "IndiGo has reported significant disruptions across its network over the past two days, leading to delays and inconvenience for passengers," an airport statement stated.

"The airline stated that a combination of unforeseen operational challenges, including minor technical glitches, winter-related weather issues, increased air-traffic congestion, and updated crew rostering norms, have affected its flight schedules. To restore stability, IndiGo has introduced calibrated schedule adjustments for the next 48 hours and is working continuously to normalise operations and improve punctuality," it said.

The airline assured passengers that teams are actively working to minimise discomfort, and those affected are being offered rebooking alternatives or refunds.

Chaotic situation was witnessed outside the Dabolim airport.

A group of 22 passengers, slated to fly to Ahmadabad, was stranded after their flight was cancelled.

"We were not informed in advance (about the cancellation). Till late, they were showing the flight was on time and suddenly they sent a message, saying it has been cancelled," a woman passenger, who was part of the group, told PTI.

She maintained the group members were exploring other modes of transport to reach Ahmadabad.

The flight disruptions have cast a long shadow on Goa's tourism industry with stakeholders fearing a drop in footfalls at a time when tourism season is at its peak in the coastal state.

Jack Sukhija, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, noted IndiGo enjoys more than 60 per cent share in the Indian aviation market and disruptions in its flight operations will have an adverse impact on the tourism industry.

He said the huge disruptions will definitely have an impact on the tourism industry, a key revenue earner for Goa.

"The fact remains that people who want to fly out will still have to stay in. So, it's not a very positive sign, but sooner the situation stabilises, the better it will be. But for next 2-3 days, there will be definitely an impact," Sukhija opined. PTI RPS ARU RSY