SpiceJet passengers staged a protest at Delhi airport after two Dubai-bound flights were delayed by nearly 30 and 19 hours, while a third flight on the same route was rescheduled, according to the airline and Delhi Airport authorities.
Flight SG-5111, scheduled to leave Indira Gandhi International Airport at 7.45 am on Monday, finally departed at 2 pm on Tuesday, nearly 30 hours late. The flight was carrying 130 passengers.
Another service, SG-5105, was scheduled to depart for Dubai at 6.45 pm on Monday. It left on Tuesday afternoon after a delay of nearly 19 hours, with 160 passengers on board. Together, the two delayed flights affected 290 passengers.
A third service, SG-9511, scheduled to depart from Delhi at 8.30 am on Tuesday, was rescheduled for later in the evening. A video shared widely on social media showed several passengers sitting in protest inside Terminal 3 at the airport.
SpiceJet attributed the disruption to operational reasons following the grounding of an aircraft. In a statement, the airline said alternative flights had been arranged to accommodate affected passengers and that it had made efforts to minimise the disruption.
“While SG 5111 and SG 5105 have already departed for Dubai, SG 9511 is scheduled to depart later this evening,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said, adding that the airline regretted the inconvenience caused to passengers.
Delhi Airport said its teams were coordinating with the airline and relevant stakeholders to assist passengers. The airport operator said food, beverages and other necessary assistance had been arranged to help reduce the inconvenience during the disruption.
The episode places the operational impact of an aircraft grounding directly at the passenger-facing level, with delays extending into the following day and requiring changes to flight arrangements at one of Delhi’s busiest terminals. The airline’s statement did not specify the aircraft involved or provide further details about the operational issue.
The immediate next step is the scheduled departure of SG-9511 later on Tuesday evening, while SpiceJet and airport teams continue assisting passengers affected by the delays.
