Ahmedabad airport sees third day of chaos as 70 flights delayed by up to 12 hours

Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport plunged into chaos for the third consecutive day on Thursday, with long queues, frayed tempers and widespread delays hitting passengers across terminals.

Departing flights from Ahmedabad were running an average of 80 minutes late, while several routes saw extreme delays stretching into hours. IndiGo’s Ahmedabad–Mumbai flight, scheduled early morning, was among the first to be hit.

Flights facing some of the longest delays included the Ahmedabad–Lucknow (5.30 hours late), Ahmedabad–Jammu (7 hours late) and Ahmedabad–Siliguri (8 hours late).

Airport officials confirmed that nearly 75% of today’s delayed flights belonged to IndiGo, which has been struggling with severe operational disruptions. Manual check-ins led to serpentine queues through the day.

By late evening, the situation deteriorated further. IndiGo’s Ahmedabad–Delhi flight, originally scheduled to depart at 7.50 pm, took off only at 5.05 am the next morning. Frustrated passengers engaged in heated arguments at several counters as uncertainty over departures continued.

With flight schedules in disarray, many Ahmedabad–Mumbai commuters abandoned air travel altogether, cancelling tickets to book seats on trains instead. This sudden rush pushed train waiting lists sharply higher, adding to the day’s travel woes for thousands.

The disruptions mark one of the most chaotic periods at the Ahmedabad airport in recent months, with no official clarity yet on when operations will stabilise.