The widespread cancellations carried out by “IndiGo” this week disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers, causing a major shock to brides and grooms. One couple had to attend their wedding online, while others rushed to reschedule their flights, and another family preferred to book a private flight at a high cost to avoid missing this important event.
Even Simon Wong, the Singaporean High Commissioner to India, was not immune to this chaos, as he announced on his “X” account the cancellation of his flight, expressing his regret for not being able to attend the wedding of one of his young employees in the remote town of Deoghar in eastern India.
These cancellations coincided with the peak of the wedding season, a sector estimated to be worth around $130 billion in India, where families spend lavishly on celebrations that last for days and include music, dancing, and gifts.
Despite “IndiGo” apologizing to its customers, it was not enough to reassure many newlyweds. After their flight was canceled, a newly married couple had to participate in their wedding ceremony via a large screen in a video conference, apologizing to their guests who had arrived at the venue. The bride’s mother told “NDTV”: “We invited many relatives, and it was impossible to cancel the ceremony at the last minute, so we decided that the couple would attend the ceremony online and broadcast their participation on the screen.”
“IndiGo” confirmed that the crisis stemmed from its lack of timely preparation to implement strict changes to pilots’ working hours, while the Indian government announced the opening of an investigation into these disruptions, which included the cancellation of more than a thousand flights on Friday alone.
“IndiGo” controls more than 60% of the aviation market in India, and Amit Kumar Gupta, founder of a stock research firm, told Reuters that his cousin’s wedding celebrations scheduled for this week in Goa may be “postponed” until January.
