Snags at the check-in baggage belt at the Bengaluru airport on Sunday, October 31 led to multiple delays in departure of IndiGo flights. The problem with the baggage belt continued even till Monday morning with IndiGo saying that flights from Bengaluru were impacted and asking flyers to check for their updated flight timings. Some flyers also complained that their check-in luggage did not reach their destination along with them.
Popular author Amish Tripathi took to Twitter to say that his colleagues were travelling to Prayagraj from Bengaluru and two of their bags were lost. He also complained that the airline did not offer a satisfactory response to their queries. Many complained that their check-in luggage had essential documents for work and other immediate needs.
Amish tweeted, “Very poor service by @IndiGo6E and @BLRAirport. Our team was travelling from Bangalore to Prayagraj, for a shoot, and 2 of our bags have been lost. No proper answers, no solutions offered (sic).”
There were many others who complained of similar troubles. One flyer, Ishan Khasnis, tweeted, “I was flying from Bangalore to Bombay (6e5399) yesterday afternoon - have not yet received my check-in luggage. The Indigo team on ground at Bombay said I would get it this morning but the numbers they gave me are unreachable. Pathetic service (sic).”
To this, Indigo replied, “Sir, we can understand the inconvenience. Due to baggage belt failure at Bengaluru airport, there are bags that are left behind and our team is working on priority to get those delivered at the earliest.”
Very poor service by @IndiGo6E and @BLRAirport. Our team was travelling from Bangalore to Prayagraj, for a shoot, and 2 of our bags have been lost. No proper answers, no solutions offered.
— Amish Tripathi (@authoramish) October 31, 2021
Sir, we can understand the inconvenience. Due to baggage belt failure at Bengaluru airport, there are bags that are left behind and our team is working on priority to get those delivered at the earliest. ~Surjya
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) November 1, 2021
In a statement on Sunday, Indigo had said, “Owing to the check-in baggage belt failure at Kempegowda International Airport, our flights from Bengaluru are facing delays. We are proactively implementing measures to minimise the impact on other flights. We are also working with BIAL to resolve this issue.We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers.”
The airport, too, issued a statement. “On Sunday, October 31, 2021, the baggage system at BLR Airport failed for a short while but stabilised within a few minutes.The baggage system failure which lasted for about 15 minutes seems to have had a cascading effect with Indigo Airlines trying their best to cope. However, this has not impacted the flights or baggage of the other airlines operating at BLR Airport. BLR Airport has extended all support to Indigo Airlines. We are already working closely with our Baggage Handling System partner to check on all factors that could have caused this issue and will have it addressed. We regret the inconvenience that this has caused to passengers," an airport spokesperson said.