Many turn to road and rail amid IndiGo crisis

Flight disruptions, lost luggage, and soaring fares triggered by the ongoing IndiGo airlines crisis are pushing Bengalureans to travel by road and train. Their trips range from short 350 km hauls to Mangaluru to long journeys of 1,500-2,145 km to Delhi, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.

Although ceramic artiste Kshitija Mitter was scheduled to fly to Pune on Tuesday, she arrived a day early by road. She hitched a 13-hour ride with a fellow potter she met at a weekend bazaar in Bengaluru. The latter was driving to Mumbai in her car, and Pune was en route. “An hour after arriving, I got a notification that my IndiGo flight for the next day was cancelled. At least I will be refunded,” she says. Another potter who had travelled from Chennai to Bengaluru by train was stranded on his return journey. So his family sent his car with a driver from Chennai to help him get back. 

Others, like communications professional Shruthi Mohan, hit the road to catch flights from alternate cities. She was scheduled to fly from Mangaluru to Delhi last Friday. But with delays mounting, she began scrambling to book flights on other airlines from Mumbai, Kochi, and Bengaluru. “Eventually, I took an overnight bus to Bengaluru. My parents live there and I figured I could rest before flying,” she says. She spent an extra Rs 4,000 on the new ticket but was refunded for her cancelled IndiGo flight.

Rental surge

Between December 2 and 7, Savaari Car Rentals experienced a 70% increase in one-way bookings from Bengaluru to Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mangaluru, Kochi, Chennai, and Puducherry compared to the same period last year. Demand also jumped for longer routes, including Bengaluru to Indore and Bengaluru to Kolkata, and inbound trips from Varanasi, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh. “Travellers who would typically choose short-haul flights, especially on busy corridors like Bengaluru to Chennai or Bengaluru to Hyderabad, are now opting for the reliability and comfort of road travel,” says founder and CEO, Gaurav Aggarwal.

While Carzonrent has seen a 7% postponement in business trip bookings, rentals for personal travel from Bengaluru rose nearly 20% to Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Ooty, Goa, and Chennai. Founder Rajiv K Vij says people are opting for the road because they would otherwise lose 8-10 hours just getting to the airport and then waiting amid the chaos and delays there.

Call2Cabs saw a spike in last-minute bookings from Bengaluru to Mangaluru, Goa, Anantapur, Hyderabad, Pune, and even as far as Gujarat. “We even had a booking from Delhi to Bengaluru. Most trips were for personal reasons, including attending a funeral,” says owner Siddaraju.

However, flight uncertainty has thrown operations into disarray. K N M Rao of Quick Ride says their operations took a dip during the peak of flight cancellations, but demand has now surged as passengers are returning from airports without flying. To meet the temporary spike, weekly offs for fleet drivers were cancelled, while others put in extra hours. Algorithm-driven pricing reflected the strain, rising by up to 20%.

Hariprakash Agrawal, CEO of RideAlly, highlights the timing of the disruption. “It’s peak wedding season, when outstation guests usually take short trips to Mysuru, Ooty, or Wayanad after attending ceremonies in Bengaluru. That segment has been hit by 50%. People are either not coming or arriving too late,” he says.

Upcoming trips

Travel content creator Priyanka Prasad has opted for a demanding contingency. On December 18, she and an automobile enthusiast will embark on a 14-hour journey from Bengaluru to Panchgani, Maharashtra for a bike expo. “This month alone, I lost a major opportunity at an event in Goa because my flight was cancelled. Such things affect our income,” she says.

Long-distance rides don’t faze these seasoned bikers. “I also know there’s road repair work happening on the route. There are chances of cars getting stuck in traffic, but on bikes, we can slip past faster,” she says.

Druvan S’s family had planned a three-day trip to Puri Jagannath in Odisha by flight. They have now added two extra days to the itinerary. They will drive over 1,200 km each way. “Since it’s the year-end break, neither me nor my family had to worry about taking extra leave from studies or work,” says the college student.

On December 24, vocalist Raghavendran V, who collects flags, plans to hire a chauffeur to drive him in his own car to Udupi. He is restricted by mobility challenges. “Only last year, after three corrective surgeries, I started flying, and found it quick and easy. Now I am forced to travel by road. It will be a 10-12 hour journey. Potholes won’t be easy on my body. But other flights are too expensive,” he says.

Uncertain, but memorable

For some, the shift has rekindled a fondness for land travel. Environmentalist Alexander James and his family will travel by train from Bengaluru to Delhi and back for a wedding. The journey will take roughly a day and a half each way. “My mother, a senior citizen, did not want to fly. But the moment we decided to travel by train, she agreed,” he says.

A flight cancellation forced author Milan Vohra to book an overnight bus from Hyderabad to Bengaluru to make it in time for her book launch. The scramble for trains and buses was stressful, especially because she has some degree of vision loss, but it rekindled the confidence she once had as a solo traveller. She now cherishes the unplanned human moments that unfolded along the way: a cabbie who dropped her on Hyderabad’s outskirts to catch her bus, tea stall owners who helped ease the sore throat and chills she was beginning to feel, and an auto driver in Bengaluru who turned off the music because he saw she was falling asleep.

Kshitija's hitchhiking experience showed her a side of Karnataka and Maharashtra she wasn’t familiar with. “We saw thick fog, fields of sunflowers and maize, and lots of windmills. In Davanagere, I tried benne dosa for the first time. At Karad in Maharashtra, we ate a traditional Maharashtrian meal at a wada (courtyard mansion). We ate pithla-bhakri there,” she says.

Your rights if an airline cancels your flight

If the airline informs you about the cancellation within 24 hours of the scheduled departure, it is not liable to pay compensation. But you are entitled to an alternative flight or a full refund.

If the airline fails to inform you within 24 hours of the scheduled departure, you are entitled to an alternative flight, or compensation, in addition to a full refund.

Compensation rates

• Flight duration of up to one hour: Rs 5,000, or the basic fare plus airline fuel charge (whichever is less).

• Flight duration between one hour and two hours: Rs 7,500 or the basic fare plus airline fuel charge (whichever is less).

• Flight duration longer than two hours: Rs 10,000 or the basic fare plus airline fuel charge (whichever is less).

If the alternative flight leaves within an hour of the scheduled and cancelled flight, you get no compensation.

If the alternative flight does not leave within an hour of the scheduled and cancelled flight, compensation can go up to 400% of the basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to a maximum of Rs 20,000.

Food and stay

The airline is mandated to provide meals and refreshments when you wait for an alternative flight at the airport. If you wait overnight, the airline must provide hotel accommodation and airport transfers.

If you are denied these rights — airlines mostly cite ‘technical’ or ‘operational’ reasons to avoid paying compensation — you can approach a consumer court, which can penalise errant airlines and award compensation.