IndiGo tricks 6 off Chennai flight saying they will go on the next. Plot twist: No flight that day

Six passengers who were set to fly onboard an IndiGo domestic flight from Bengaluru to Chennai, were tricked by IndiGo's ground staff into disembarking the aircraft with the promise that would be put on another IndiGo flight.

However, the reason they were made to get off the plane was allegedly that IndiGo did not want to fly with only six passengers. 

What happened

• IndiGo flight 6E478 took off from Amritsar, and was going to Chennai via Bengaluru.
• Six Chennai-bound passengers, including two elderly people, were tricked into deboarding the aircraft at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at around 9.30 pm on November 19, Sunday, by IndiGo's ground staff.
• They were promised that they would be put on an alternative flight that was ready to depart to Chennai.
• However, the passengers soon realised that they were tricked because the airline allegedly did not want to fly with only six people on board.
• Since there were no alternative flights to Chennai that evening, all six people were compelled to stay overnight in Bengaluru, with their departure rescheduled for Monday; ie, the next morning.

Passengers complain

• A Times of India report quoted a flyer as saying, "Six passengers, including I, were seated in the plane on the Bengaluru tarmac when I received a call on my mobile phone from an IndiGo ground crew member asking me to get off the flight as he was waiting for me inside the airport with my boarding pass for another flight, ready to depart to Chennai." 
• The other five passengers also received similar phone calls and got off the plane.
• IndiGo sources at Bengaluru airport confirmed the incident to the Times of India, saying that two passengers were lodged in a hotel 13 km from the airport for the night, while others decided to stay at the airport lounge.
• The report quoted an airline official as saying, "All were accommodated on flights on Monday morning and flown to Chennai."
• However, the passengers were really upset at the "blatant lying" by IndiGo staffers, and want action for the inconvenience they faced.
• The six passengers located the IndiGo staff member who asked them to get off the flight.
• The passengers also had a dispute with the staffer, who reportedly provided no assistance, said one of the flyers.
• Another passenger said, "IndiGo’s assistant manager at the airport, Lloyd Pinto, came, but he too acted cold, with no sympathy for even the elderly passengers who were stranded. Finally, after admitting it was their fault, they had the audacity to deny us an airport hotel, saying we were not eligible."

Issues with IndiGo

IndiGo, which operates the most number of domestic flights in India, is regularly in the news for less than pleasant reasons. The issues with IndiGo seem neverending, from passenger complaints about the quality of seats, to overpriced tickets, to this latest Bengaluru-Chennai flight incident that is shocking to say the least.