500 fliers hit as SpiceJet planes are delayed

About 500 passengers of three SpiceJet flights, two to Mumbai and one to Bengaluru, from here saw their travel plans going awry on Thursday night after the flights were delayed due to non-availability of plane.

The three planes were stuck at other airports due to bad weather and a medical emergency, leaving the fliers to Mumbai and Bengaluru stuck at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Sources said one of the aircraft was held at Bagdogra due to bad weather in Kolkata while another was delayed at Madurai because of a medical emergency on board.

Sources said the flights were delayed by over five hours. The delay led to heated argument between fliers and SpiceJet staff at the Delhi airport. Two passengers were accused of manhandling the staff.  “We do not delay flights on purpose, we do everything in our power to accommodate affected passengers and make amends. But assaults on staff can never be tolerated. They are doing their jobs,” airline Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said.