Scores of passengers were stranded at Kempegowda International Airport early on 31 July after SpiceJet abruptly cancelled its SG 3445 Bangalore–Mumbai service, initially delayed for three hours before being scrubbed. Affected travellers shared photographs of crowded airline counters and excerpts from India’s Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on social media. Under CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV, carriers must either offer an alternate flight within six hours or provide a full refund plus compensation up to ₹10,000, depending on ticket cost and notice period. Several passengers claim they were instead handed meal vouchers worth just ₹300. The disruption comes as Indian LCCs grapple with peak-monsoon weather and engine inspection schedules on Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neos. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) statistics show SpiceJet cancelled 1.9 % of domestic flights in June, above the industry average of 0.6 %. Business-travel managers should monitor carrier-reliability metrics and consider flexible-fare inventories on IndiGo and Vistara for time-sensitive itineraries. Travellers booked on SpiceJet this week can claim statutory compensation by emailing the airline and subsequently escalating to the AirSewa grievance portal if unsatisfied. The incident renews calls for DGCA to publish real-time flight-disruption dashboards similar to those in the EU and US, enabling corporates to make data-driven airline choices.
Source: Reddit – r/AirTravelIndia
