Public figures, much like everyone else, occasionally find themselves at the mercy of unpredictable travel woes. The latest to share their dismal experience with the aviation industry is actor Ranvir Shorey, who recently faced a grueling 10-hour delay at the Bengaluru airport. His ordeal, rife with frustration and misinformation from airline staff, prompted him to vent his dissatisfaction on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The incident, which is fast becoming a common narrative among air travelers, saw Shorey and seven others check in for their scheduled 2 pm flight, only to discover an initial 3-hour delay due to bad weather conditions. Despite the inconvenience, Shorey and his fellow passengers didn’t raise complaints, assuming there must have been a lapse in communication and giving the airline the benefit of the doubt.
However, their patience began to wear thin when, after waiting for over three hours, they were informed that the delay would extend an additional three hours with an 8 pm departure. Shorey’s frustration was heightened by the transparent skies outside, a clear contradiction to the airline’s fog-related justification. To their dismay, they learned via the airline’s website that the issue was hardly weather-related; the aircraft was already at the airport, and there had been no reports of fog disrupting its previous route from Kolkata.
When confronted with this discrepancy, the IndiGo staff reportedly claimed the website had not been updated and reassured passengers about the 8 pm takeoff. This assurance was critical for Shorey, who was anxious about his child being left alone at home if he couldn’t return by late evening.
But the situation escalated as the delay stretched on. The departure was pushed back yet again to 9 pm, and then to after 10 pm, leaving Shorey with no choice but to publicly address the mess. Confronting the staff once more, he was shocked to learn that the employee who had given him a personal guarantee was no longer at the airport and had passed him off to another staff member. The real reason for the delay emerged at last: there was no pilot available for the flight.
It was only after Shorey appealed to the personal integrity of a staff member, urging him to stop parroting company lines, that he received a straight answer. A pilot was finally assigned for the delayed flight; they were now promised a 10:30 pm departure. Ultimately, the passengers languished through additional hours of delay. Their exhaustion was palpable, underscored by the helplessness Shorey felt in having to arrange alternative care for his child as he waited to board the flight, which eventually departed around midnight.
The actor expressed his intention to file a complaint against the airline for the harrowing experience, but he wasn’t the only one affected by airline mismanagement. Actress Radhika Apte also shared her own horrifying experience on Instagram, recounting how she and her fellow passengers were trapped in an aerobridge, deprived of water and restrooms, clueless about when they would finally be able to board their flight.
These narratives are part of an alarming trend of aviation mishaps that sees passengers often left in the lurch, uncertain of their travel plans and questioning the transparency of the air travel industry. As more travelers turn to social media to voice their grievances, it becomes increasingly clear that airlines must revisit their operational and customer service protocols to prevent such instances from repeating. Passengers like Shorey and Apte, armed with a public platform, are elevating the conversation, calling for accountability and reliability in an industry that seems to be increasingly marred by delays and miscommunication.
