Aviation company IndiGo is sending two planes to Istanbul to bring back its passengers stranded in the Turkish capital, while the flight from Istanbul to Delhi was canceled on Friday owing to a technical fault.
Hundreds of IndiGo passengers were stranded at Istanbul airport on Thursday as their flights to Delhi and Mumbai were delayed. The passengers remained stranded for more than 24 hours and many took to social media to complain about the delay and lack of facilities. This badly affected the airline's scheduled flights on both these routes.
IndiGo late Friday evening said it had taken all steps to keep customers informed as well as provided refreshments and accommodation wherever possible. In a separate statement on Saturday, IndiGo said its flight 6E12 from Istanbul to Delhi was canceled on Friday due to a "technical" problem.
The airline operates two daily flights to Istanbul with chartered Boeing 777s, one from Delhi and the other from Mumbai. "Alternate flights have been arranged to ferry passengers to their destinations. We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers and appreciate their understanding in this matter," the airline said in a statement on Saturday.
A source close to the matter said the airline will send two A321 aircraft to Istanbul to pick up the passengers. It was not immediately known how many passengers had booked tickets for Friday's canceled flight.