J&K CM Omar Abdullah fumes as Delhi-bound flight diverted, delayed

In a late-night post on X, CM Abdullah expressed his ordeal, saying that the flight, which took off from Jammu, was in the air for three hours and rerouted to Jaipur due to "apparent congestion or disruption" at the Delhi Airport

New Delhi: After a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Jammu was diverted to Jaipur due to various reasons, including adverse weather conditions, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was in the plane, made scathing remarks at the situation. The flight from Jammu carrying the Chief Minister was diverted to Jaipur on Saturday night.

In a late-night post on X, CM Abdullah expressed his ordeal, saying that the flight, which took off from Jammu, was in the air for three hours and rerouted to Jaipur due to “apparent congestion or disruption” at the Delhi Airport. He said that passengers, including himself, were left stranded on the runway at Jaipur Airport for hours.

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The Chief Minister also shared a selfie standing on the aircraft’s steps after deplaning briefly for fresh air. “Delhi airport is a bloody sh*t show (excuse my French but I’m in no mood to be polite). 3 hours in the air after we left Jammu we get diverted to Jaipur & so here I am at 1 in the morning on the steps of the plane getting some fresh air. I’ve no idea what time we will leave from here,” he said.

Three hours later, the plane finally landed in the national capital, following which the CM gave the necessary update, also writing, “In case anyone is wondering, I got to Delhi just after 3:00 AM”.

The Jammu airport on Saturday saw chaotic scenes with several passengers complaining of inconvenience after bad weather led to flight cancellations in Srinagar. Many passengers posted videos on social media showing crowds swelling inside the terminal.

Although the Airlines had issued advisories for passengers travelling from Jammu Airport, the chaos persisted, prompting the CM’s outpouring, who blamed the situation at the Delhi airport.

IndiGo wrote on X, “Weather conditions in Srinagar are impacting flight operations. We understand this may cause inconvenience and truly appreciate your patience. Please stay updated on your flight status in real time. If your flight is impacted, you can explore flexible rebooking options or claim a refund easily via our website. Our teams are actively monitoring the situation and will have smooth operations back on track as soon as the weather plays nice.”

SpiceJet said, “Due to bad weather in Srinagar (SXR), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status.”

The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi has recently shut operations at Terminal 2 (T2) due to maintenance work, with airliners such as IndiGo and Akasa moving all flights that operated from T2 to Terminal 3 and the recently opened upgraded Terminal 1.

Terminal 2 was shut for repairs on April 15 for about four months. The IGI Airport had also issued a public advisory cautioning passengers about possible flight delays on Friday due to shifting wind patterns in its surrounding areas.