IndiGo battles passenger fury over lost luggage chaos

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is facing passenger fury over delays in locating and delivering thousands of bags stranded during last week’s large-scale flight disruptions.

IndiGo, which holds 65 percent of the domestic market, has apologised after it was forced to cancel more than 3,400 flights in less than a week, having failed to plan adequately for stricter rules governing pilot rest.

The delays due to crew shortages disrupted tens of thousands of passengers, affecting travel, holiday and wedding plans in one of the widest-ranging incidents in Indian aviation history.

Last-minute cancellations and the multiple connecting flights used to reroute passengers have also resulted in thousands of suitcases and bags being misplaced.

In a statement late on Sunday, the Indian government said it had ordered IndiGo to “trace and deliver all baggage separated from passengers due to disruptions within 48 hours”.

By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India, the government confirmed.

Vikash Bajpai, 47, said he had been waiting for four days for the luggage he and his 72-year-old mother had checked in for their flight home to Pune from Kanpur, where they had attended a wedding.

They reached home after spending a night in a New Delhi hotel, taking a series of connecting flights to Mumbai, and then a taxi to Pune. There was no sign of their bags when they landed in Mumbai.

“I was given a number to call, but nobody answers the phone. The luggage contains expensive wedding clothes and shoes, and my mother’s medication,” said Bajpai, estimating the contents to be worth 90,000 rupees ($1,000). “I am extremely upset.”

A senior IndiGo executive told the Reuters news agency the airline was working “round the clock” to clear the backlog and ensure the bags reached their owners.