Mumbai: SpiceJet’s operational troubles spilt over into passenger chaos at Mumbai airport, with more than 40 passengers stranded overnight after connecting flights to Darbhanga and Gorakhpur were cancelled. The passengers, who had arrived from Dubai early Thursday, said they received no intimation and were left without food or accommodation. Airport police eventually stepped in and arranged their stay.The incident comes as SpiceJet continues to grapple with mounting operational pressures, with its July cancellation rate touching 8.58% and the airline facing an NCLT matter over insolvency proceedings. SpiceJet escaped immediate insolvency on Wednesday after lessor Aviator ML withdrew its Rs 60-crore insolvency plea following a settlement. But seven other lessor petitions remain, keeping the insolvency threat alive.Sources said airport police held a meeting at 11am on Thursday with SpiceJet, CISF, DGCA, BCAS and Mumbai Airport International Airport Ltd (MAIL) officials. Police warned the airline that a repeat of such an incident could lead to an FIR under the BNS provision relating to criminal breach of trust.The stranded passengers said many had rushed home from the Gulf for family emergencies. Some were travelling to attend funerals, while another passenger said his wife was in an ICU in Gorakhpur.“There was no message or communication from SpiceJet when we took the flight from Dubai on Wednesday about the cancellation in Mumbai. There were no arrangements made by the airline. We approached the airport police when airline staff told us that we could complain anywhere but nothing would happen. Police made a diary entry and arranged accommodation and food for more than 40 passengers at a dormitory near the airport,” said Prem Kumar, who works at a hotel in Dubai.Ethesam ul Haq said he had rushed from Dubai after his mother died on Wednesday. “I rushed from Dubai on Wednesday to attend my mother’s funeral at 10am on Thursday. Now I will reach on Friday, when everything will be over. I don’t have money to buy another ticket and have to depend on the rescheduled flight on Friday morning to Darbhanga.” MD Ansari from Gorakhpur too will be missing the funeral of his father-in-law on Wednesday.“My wife is in the ICU. I am stuck at the airport and worried about her condition. I paid Rs 16,400 for the ticket. After the chaos, the airline finally gave me a boarding pass for tomorrow’s flight,” said Gorakhpur resident Akbar Ali.Another passenger, Shamse Alam, said he and several others were returning to India after nearly two years. “We never received any intimation from the airline. If we had been informed 14 hours earlier, as the airline claims, we would have booked another flight. That claim is false,” he said.The airport police also handled a separate group of around 38 passengers from a SpiceJet flight from Goa to Mumbai. The flight was delayed by four hours and, after landing in Mumbai, the pilot reportedly reached his permissible duty limit. The passengers, who were to continue to Delhi, were left stranded.A SpiceJet spokesperson said: “The information regarding the passengers from Dubai is factually incorrect. The SpiceJet flight from Mumbai to Darbhanga on August 20 was cancelled due to operational reasons, and the cancellation was communicated to passengers 14 hours prior to the scheduled departure. The claim that passengers were denied a refund is also incorrect. Passengers were offered the option of either a full refund or rescheduling on the next available flight. SpiceJet communicates schedule changes to passengers through the registered contact details provided at the time of booking, in line with standard industry practice. Where a booking has been made through a travel agent and the agent’s contact details have been provided as the registered contact, the communication is sent to those details.”
