Police Warn SpiceJet as Over 40 Dubai Passengers Stranded at Mumbai Airport
More than 40 passengers travelling from Dubai were left stranded overnight at Mumbai airport after SpiceJet cancelled connecting flights to Darbhanga and Gorakhpur without prior intimation to the travellers. Airport police intervened to arrange food and accommodation for the passengers at a nearby dormitory.
Following the disruption, airport police convened a meeting at 11am on Thursday with officials from SpiceJet, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MAIL). Police warned the airline that any repeat of such an incident could result in a First Information Report (FIR) under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions concerning criminal breach of trust.
Several stranded travellers had flown from the Gulf for urgent family matters. Passenger Ethesam ul Haq said he boarded his flight from Dubai on Wednesday to attend his mother's funeral on Thursday morning, but the cancellation delayed his arrival in Darbhanga until Friday. Another passenger, Akbar Ali, said his wife was admitted to an intensive care unit in Gorakhpur. Passengers stated that airline staff offered no initial assistance, forcing them to approach the police station, where officers made a diary entry and organised dormitory lodging.
Airport police also assisted a separate group of around 38 passengers arriving on a SpiceJet flight from Goa to Mumbai. That flight experienced a four-hour delay, and after landing in Mumbai, the pilot reached the permissible duty time limit, leaving onward passengers bound for Delhi stranded.
A SpiceJet spokesperson stated that claims regarding the Dubai passengers were factually incorrect. The airline said the Mumbai-Darbhanga flight on August 20 was cancelled due to operational reasons, with notices sent 14 hours ahead of departure to registered contact details. The spokesperson added that passengers were offered full refunds or rescheduling on the next available flights, noting that notifications are sent to travel agents when bookings are made through intermediaries.
The disruption coincides with broader operational hurdles for SpiceJet, whose cancellation rate reached 8.58% in July alongside ongoing insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal.
