Kolkata Airport Operations Normalise After Week of Disruption

Kolkata: Operations at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport returned to normal on Tuesday, marking the first day without significant flight cancellations since the operational disruptions began on December 3. The airport reported a smooth flow of passenger movement, with nearly all flights running on schedule, apart from a few cancellations that were previously communicated by IndiGo Airlines.

The atmosphere at the airport was one of relief as passengers, airline personnel, and airport officials reacted positively to the resumption of services. Many individuals who had faced difficulties during the previous week expressed a sense of optimism that had been absent earlier.

Among those relieved to finally travel were Meghraj Adhikari Matum and his family, who had been stranded in Kolkata for three days. The family, comprising Meghraj, his wife Binita, and their daughter Sonam, had initially flown to Delhi and Agra for a vacation before attempting to return to their home in Manipur. Their connecting flight from Kolkata had been cancelled and rescheduled multiple times.

"We exhausted all our money on hotel stays and transportation here in Kolkata and would have been in deeper trouble if we were not allowed to board a flight back home even today," Meghraj stated. "Thankfully, after a string of cancellations, we were offered tickets on an afternoon flight on Tuesday."

The family was finally able to board a flight to Imphal, a situation echoed by two soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir, Rafaqat Ali and Shaukat Ali, who had also been stranded since Friday due to flight cancellations.

"We reached Kolkata by train from Srinagar, expecting to take a flight to Imphal, only to find our flight was cancelled," Shaukat explained. "With our duties awaiting us, we were relieved to finally board a flight on Tuesday."

The IndiGo service counter, which had been a focal point of frustration for many passengers over the past week, was notably less crowded on Tuesday. Ground staff were seen addressing passenger concerns and working to resolve issues more efficiently. IndiGo Airlines reported that it operated over 1,800 flights that day, covering all 138 destinations in its network, and planned to increase this number to nearly 1,900 flights the following day.

IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers confirmed in a video statement that flight operations had fully stabilised as of December 9, with all flights listed on their website scheduled to operate normally. "Our on-time performance has also returned to expected levels," he added.

Airport authorities indicated that prior to noon on Tuesday, all IndiGo flights were on time, with only a few delays reported for other airlines, including Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air. The overall recovery of operations at Kolkata airport signals a return to regular travel for passengers who were previously caught in the chaos of cancellations and delays.