IndiGo disruption: Newlywed couple forced to attend own reception online as flight gets cancelled

Grappling with operational issues, IndiGo was forced to cancel nearly 550 flights over a three-day period on Thursday, leaving thousands of passengers across the country frustrated and waiting at airports.

As the passengers waited, and waited some more, for the flights to resume, many missed important meetings, lost hope of reaching their loved ones suffering medical emergencies, and had to skip out on some of the most cherished memories of their lives.

Among these IndiGo passengers were a tech couple from Karnataka's Hubballi, who had to miss their own wedding reception. However, the couple still managed to be a part of their post-wedding function, just virtually, according to a NDTV report.

The newlyweds, both software engineers working in Bengaluru, were scheduled to fly to Gujarat Bhavan in Hubballi, but IndiGo flight cancellations prevented them from travelling.

Medha Kshirsagar of Hubballi and Sangama Das of Odisha got married in Bhubaneswar on November 23. A formal reception was arranged at the bride's hometown on Wednesday.

According to the NDTV report, the bride and groom had booked tickets from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru, and onwards to Hubballi for December 2.

The couple was stranded after their IndiGo flights were repeatedly delayed from 9 AM on Tuesday until early morning the next day. The flight was eventually cancelled on December 3.

Several of the couple's relatives travelling also faced cancellations.

However, with guests already gathered and all preparations in place, the bride's parents stepped in and took the couple's place for the rituals. Fully dressed for the occasion, the bride and groom, the NDTV report said, joined the reception in Bhubaneswar through video conferencing.

“The wedding took place on November 23, and we had planned the reception for December 3. But suddenly, at 4 am, the flight was cancelled. We were still hopeful that they might make it, but they couldn't,” the bride's mother told NDTV.

She said that they felt very bad, and since they had invited so many relatives, it was impossible to cancel the event at the last minute. “So, after discussing as a family, we decided to have the couple attend the reception online and broadcast their participation on the screen,” she added.