New Delhi: Chaos gripped Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for the third consecutive day on Friday, as IndiGo’s ongoing operational crisis left hundreds of passengers stranded across all three terminals. Over 300 flights were cancelled again, throwing travel plans into disarray and leaving families, elderly travellers, and children without accommodation or clear information on alternative travel options.

For many, connecting flights were missed, and there was nowhere to go in the Capital. Among those affected was 87-year-old Arun Kumar Choksi, who had arrived from Ohio, US, with his 82-year-old wife to escape the harsh winter. “We landed in Delhi on December 3 and had a flight to Vadodara the next day. That got cancelled and they gave us accommodation, but today it’s cancelled again and they aren’t offering any hotel,” he said. “I don’t know how to use apps to book hotels or cabs.”

The couple’s struggle at the airport worsened when they requested a wheelchair. “An IndiGo staff member asked me to show where it’s written on the ticket that we are eligible. My wife, who has sciatica, began crying before they finally gave us one,” Choksi added.

Other passengers faced equally stressful situations. Sixty-one-year-old Okafor Nnamdi, from Ethiopia, said he spent the night of December 5 roaming the airport, hoping to catch his rescheduled flight, only to have it cancelled again. “This is the worst air travel experience of my life,” he said. Nnamdi, who brings patients from Ethiopia and Nigeria to India for medical treatment, expressed his frustration at being stuck while he was supposed to escort a Nigerian cancer patient back to Mumbai.

Many passengers who managed to find alternate flights faced exorbitant fares. “My flight is cancelled, and nothing is available until December 8. My visa expires on December 7. I don’t have money for another ticket and no idea when I’ll get the refund for my original flight,” said 45-year-old Mohd Ashraf, who had travelled from Poonch in Kashmir to Delhi and was supposed to fly to Hyderabad before returning to Medina.

Stranded passengers resorted to booking last-minute hotel rooms near the airport or arranging train travel. Thirteen-year-old Stanzin Shakya, from Ladakh, was supposed to fly to Visakhapatnam for a national hockey tournament. “Our coach managed to get train tickets for me and 16 teammates, so we postponed the matches for tomorrow,” he said.

Passengers repeatedly reported confusion and misinformation from the airline. IndiGo made no airport announcements about cancellations, forcing travellers to run between airline counters for updates. Many also encountered mismatches between online flight availability and actual counter status. “Online it shows tickets are available, but the Air India counter said flights are overbooked, and nothing is available until December 8,” said 26-year-old Daksha Jain, who was trying to reach her sister’s wedding in Bengaluru.

In the absence of adequate support, passengers resorted to sharing essentials. Food, phone chargers, and contacts for travel agents circulated among those waiting. Many criticised the airline for failing to provide even basic meals for passengers stranded overnight.

The IndiGo crisis, now entering its third day, has exposed gaps in passenger management and communication, raising questions about contingency planning and the airline’s ability to cope with operational disruptions.