Over 100 Passengers Stranded at Pune Airport as IndiGo Flight Delayed 3 Hours
Viman Nagar, 19th November 2025: More than 100 passengers were left waiting for hours at Pune Airport early Tuesday after an IndiGo flight to Delhi was delayed by over three hours, leaving several travellers frustrated by the lack of clear communication.
IndiGo flight 6E-6763, scheduled to depart at 5.05am and reach Delhi by 7.15am, eventually took off at 8.15am and landed in the capital at 10.13am.
Advocate Yogesh Pande of the Bombay High Court, who was heading to Delhi for a Supreme Court hearing, said the situation turned tense as updates from the airline were minimal. “People were visibly upset. One woman who was travelling due to a family emergency broke down and began arguing with the ground staff. Many others were anxious as they had connecting flights,” he said.
Pande, who arrived at the airport around 3am, said the reasons for the delay kept changing. “Initially, we were told the incoming aircraft was late. Later, they blamed heavy fog in Delhi. But passengers could clearly see other airlines operating flights to the capital. No one could tell us the real reason or when boarding would begin, and that led to a lot of anger,” he added.
An airport source later said the delay occurred due to “operational reasons.”
Pande claimed passengers eventually learned that the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms may have played a role. “From what we gathered, the updated duty-time rules for pilots were the reason behind the delay,” he said. The revised guidelines increase weekly rest requirements from 36 to 48 hours and expand the definition of night duty to the 12am–6am window to reduce pilot fatigue.
According to Pande, boarding finally began around 6.30am, only for passengers to endure another hour of waiting inside the aircraft. “People were so irritated that some joked about pushing the plane ourselves just to get moving. Passengers pay high fares expecting timely service, but airlines often fail to share basic information during delays,” he said.
