“We Were Trapped in the Plane”: Flyers Fume After IndiGo Keeps Them Waiting for 3 Hours in Lucknow to Pune Flight

Pune, 9th April 2025: Over 100 passengers aboard an IndiGo flight from Lucknow to Pune endured a frustrating ordeal late Tuesday night after the aircraft developed a technical snag during taxiing and returned to the parking bay—without allowing passengers to deboard for nearly three hours.

Flight 6E-118, an Airbus A321, was scheduled to depart Lucknow at 9.25 pm and land in Pune around 11.30 pm. However, what began as a routine taxi toward the runway soon took a puzzling turn when the plane came to a halt shortly after starting to move.

“At first, everyone thought it was a regular wait in the queue for takeoff,” said Ankit Joshi, a passenger traveling back to Pune. “But after 30 minutes of being stationary, murmurs started. When the plane turned back toward the bay, we knew something was wrong.”

Despite repeated requests, passengers said they were not provided clear information about the delay. “Some of us overheard cabin crew discussing a technical issue, but there was no official announcement for quite some time,” Joshi added.

Several flyers expressed their discomfort over being kept inside the aircraft during the delay, especially with families, elderly passengers, and children on board. “It’s not just about delays—we understand technical issues happen. But why keep us locked inside when we could have waited more comfortably at the terminal?” said another passenger, who preferred not to be named. “Even when people asked to deboard, there was no response. It felt like we were stuck without a choice.”

In a statement issued later, IndiGo confirmed the delay, citing a technical problem as the cause. “Flight 6E-118 from Lucknow to Pune returned to bay due to a technical issue. The aircraft underwent necessary checks and maintenance. After clearance from our engineering team, the flight resumed operations,” the airline said, assuring that safety remained its top priority.

Eventually, the aircraft took off at 12.17 am—nearly three hours behind schedule—and landed in Pune at 1.54 am.

Some frequent flyers believe the incident reflects a larger pattern of airline mismanagement. “This isn’t the first time this has happened. A couple of months ago, I faced a similar situation where we were kept on the tarmac for over an hour,” said the second passenger. “Airlines seem to cut corners to save costs, but it comes at the expense of passenger comfort and transparency.”

Many passengers have now called for clearer communication protocols and better contingency planning for such incidents in the future.