Around 900 flights hit, fliers frustrated at IGIA

Flight delays at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi on Saturday night and Sunday triggered fights and arguments between passengers on one hand and airport security and ground staff on the other.

- Aheli Das

NEW DELHI: At least 384 arrivals and 501 departures were delayed, according to data available from Flightradar24, as of 11:30 pm on Sunday.

The delays were due to shifting wind patterns, and the closure of a runway. Videos of arguments between passengers and airport security were shared on social media platform X after an Air India flight was delayed by seven hours.

"A fight broke out between Air India employees and angry passengers over a several-hour delay of a Delhi-Mumbai flight. Frustrated passengers confronted ground staff, leading to heated arguments and scuffles," a passenger shared on X.

"Whether you're travelling First/Business/Premium or Economy, the grimy inefficiency is the same at the time of embarkation, or otherwise. This is Terminal 3 at the Delhi airport on a Sunday morning: the air conditioning has failed, no adequate seating around and your bucks don't matter," said politician Yusuf A Ahmad Ansari on X while sharing a video of an overcrowded lounge area.

An airport official said that the chaos was a result of delays in landing of several flights due to change in wind patterns and easterly winds. "Of the four runways of the Delhi airport, runway 10/28 has been closed for upgradation. This, and the change in wind pattern, caused air traffic congestion, leading to delays in both departure and arrivals," the official said.