New Delhi:

The global Microsoft outage has affected 90 per cent flights operating from Bengaluru airport’s Terminal 1, sources have said. IndiGo airlines officials said the situation is likely to continue till midnight. Twenty-six flights have been cancelled in Terminal 1 and 2, most of them IndiGo flights.

When the outage began, other airlines such as Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa began checking in passengers manually at Bengaluru airport, issuing handwritten boarding passes.

Passengers at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) had a harrowing time following the disruption in flight services.

“Flights are cancelled due to the cascading effect of the worldwide travel system outage, beyond our control. The option to rebook/claim a refund is temporarily unavailable…” IndiGo said in a post on X.

Some services at Delhi airport were also affected.

Due to the global IT issue, some of the services at the Delhi Airport were temporarily impacted.

We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimise the inconvenience to our flyers.

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) July 19, 2024

Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu has assured passengers that the ministry and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are actively managing the situation using manual methods to ensure minimal disruption.

“I have directed airport authorities and airlines to be compassionate and provide extra seating, water, and food for passengers affected by delays. We understand your concerns and are working tirelessly to ensure your safe and swift travel. Your patience and cooperation are greatly appreciated,” Mr Naidu said.

He asked passengers to cooperate with airport staff during this period of disruption. Mr Naidu said regular updates on flight statuses will be given to passengers; extra staff has been deployed to address concerns of passengers, and airports are offering additional seating, water and food to ensure passengers are comfortable.

A Bengaluru airport spokesperson had said the global outage with the Navitaire Departure Control System (NDCS) has been affecting operations of some airlines across their network, including Bengaluru airport since.

Bengaluru:

A 23-year-old Youtuber was arrested for allegedly entering the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, recording a video and later falsely claiming that he spent an entire day there, police said today.

Vikas Gowda, a resident of Yelahanka in Bengaluru, entered the airport with a ticket of Chennai-bound Air India flight on April 7 at around 12 pm, they said.

According to the police, he did not board the flight “deliberately” and, instead, was roaming around the airport recording a video on his mobile phone.

On April 12, he uploaded the alleged video on his YouTube channel, which has nearly 1.13 lakh subscribers, falsely claiming that he had spent an entire day at the airport and had ventured into many areas of the airport premises hoodwinking security.

The alleged video was later on deleted by him.

“He entered the airport and cleared the security check at Terminal-2 of the Kempegowda International Airport and headed towards the boarding lounge. But instead of boarding the plane, he was roaming around in the airport premises and spent nearly six hours at the airport,” a senior police officer said.

After recording the video, he left the airport claiming to the security personnel that he had missed his flight. Since he had a valid ticket and boarding pass, the security personnel did not suspect him, he said.

Preliminary investigation said he did it for publicity and also his claims in the alleged video were an exaggeration, he added.

The matter came to the notice of the airport security personnel on April 15 and, based on the complaint of a Central Industrial Security Force official, a case was registered against Mr Gowda under Sections 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) and 448 (house trespass) of the Indian Penal Code, and he was arrested, the officer said.

Mr Gowda was later released on bail, police said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A woman recently took to social media and shared her harrowing experience with Indigo Airlines. Yavanika Raj Shah, an X (formerly Twitter) user, shared a picture of a missing seat cushion on an IndiGo flight. She was flying from Bengaluru to Bhopal on flight 6E 6465. The airlines took note of the same and expressed regret. 

“Beautiful @IndiGo6E-I do hope I land safely. This is your flight from Bengaluru to Bhopal 6E 6465,” she said on the microblogging website along with a picture.

Beautiful @IndiGo6E — I do hope I land safely!
This is your flight from Bengaluru to Bhopal 6E 6465. pic.twitter.com/DcPJTq3zka

— Yavanika Raj Shah (@yavanika_shah) March 6, 2024

Responding to the same, IndiGo said that the cushions were replaced for cleaning and the cabin crew had informed the customers. They wrote, “Ma’am, thank you for speaking with us. The seat cushions were replaced prior to the flight for cleaning purposes. Our cabin crew promptly informed the customers who were allotted these seats. This is a standard practice for cleaning during transit as and when required. “

Ma’am, thank you for speaking with us. The seat cushions were replaced prior to the flight for cleaning purposes. Our cabin crew promptly informed the customers who were allotted these seats. This is a standard practice for cleaning during transit as and when required. (1/2)

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) March 6, 2024

They added, “We are committed to providing the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene to our customers. Team IndiGo.”

Since being shared, her post has amassed the attention of many social media users. It has amassed over a million views and 10,000 likes.

A person wrote, “Wow massaging seats.”

“Maybe the previous passengers carried them off,” said a person.

“Saw a similar seat while flying Indigo from Mumbai to Indore last week. They fixed the cushion only after the actual passenger turned up. May be they are facing cushion shortage and using as per demand!” remarked a user.

Another added, “Clearly indigo is not for beginners”

“This is Indigo’s all new ‘Minimalist Sky Lounge’,” said a person.

An X user also said, “I heard about breath taking but never heard about seat taking. This has to be the first time.”

Bengaluru:

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru commenced international operations at Terminal 2 (T2) on Tuesday at 10:15 AM, with the arrival of Saudi Airlines’ flight SV866 from Jeddah.

The first International flight arrives at Terminal 2, BLR Airport.@Saudi_Airlines

For assistance, please contact our customer engagement centre on +91-8884998888 (WhatsApp only) and 080-22012001/080-66785555.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)… pic.twitter.com/qNOnb807Oj

— BLR Airport (@BLRAirport) September 12, 2023

IndiGo was the first Indian carrier to start international operations from T2 with its flight 6E1167 to Colombo.

Now, Terminal 1 will serve as the operational hub for domestic flights of IndiGo, Akasa Air, Alliance Air, and SpiceJet. Terminal 2 will be dedicated exclusively to all international flights along with domestic flights of AirAsia, Air India, Star Air and Vistara, a Bangalore International Airport Ltd statement said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)