A three-hour delay on IndiGo flight 6E-7268 from Noida International Airport to Lucknow led to passenger protests on October 7, with travellers alleging that they were kept inside the aircraft for hours without a clear explanation. The flight, scheduled to depart at about 3:05 pm, eventually took off at 6:48 pm, according to a report by Navbharat Times – Noida.
The passengers’ protest reportedly began after the Lucknow-bound service failed to leave at its scheduled time. The report said passengers remained seated inside the aircraft for nearly three hours before some of them left the plane and staged a protest on the runway. Airline officials reached the spot after the protest began.
Passengers claimed that they had first been told there was a technical problem with the aircraft and were shifted to another plane. They later alleged that the second flight was also cancelled. According to the report, passengers said they had not received timely updates from the airline and that no official had arrived to explain the delay while they remained inside the aircraft.
The available report did not include an official statement from IndiGo, Noida International Airport or the airport administration confirming the reason for the delay. It said passengers suspected that a technical issue may have been responsible, but this was not independently established in the supplied information.
The incident also brought attention to the passenger-handling arrangements during prolonged delays. Travellers alleged that they were left inside the aircraft without prior information about the expected departure time or the reason for the disruption. Their complaints extended beyond the delayed flight to the facilities and communication systems at the airport.
A second delay was reported on IndiGo flight 6E-7653 to Bhopal. The service was scheduled to depart at 5:20 pm but took off at about 6:50 pm, around 90 minutes late. The report did not specify whether the Bhopal delay was connected to the Lucknow flight disruption or identify its cause.
The episode comes as a passenger-facing test of how the airport and airline manage operational disruptions, particularly when travellers are required to remain inside an aircraft for an extended period. For passengers, the immediate issue was not only the delayed departure but also the absence of clear information about what had happened and when the flight would move.
Navbharat Times – Noida reported that a video of the passengers’ protest had circulated on social media. The supplied report did not provide further details about any regulatory action, compensation, formal complaint or investigation. The next confirmed development would be an official explanation from the airline or airport authorities regarding the two delays and the passenger-handling arrangements.
