‘From ₹8.5k to ₹71k’: Redditor forced to pay sky-high Air India fare as IndiGo cancelled Chennai-Delhi flight last minute

As IndiGo's widespread flight cancellations enter a fourth day, a passenger shared that their late-night flight from Chennai to New Delhi was abruptly cancelled. The passenger also alleged predatory fare surge amid the ongoing disruption in India’s aviation sector, calling it “capitalism at its finest” after being forced to buy a replacement ticket nearly eight times the original cost.

The flyer wrote on Reddit that his late-night IndiGo flight was abruptly cancelled, with the airline promising a refund in three to four business days while expressing that it was “deeply pained” by the inconvenience. The cancellation left him scrambling for alternatives ahead of his brother’s engagement ceremony.

The user wrote: "Air India has options, but they have removed their listings from Yatra. I think all airlines have. Only layover flights were listed with the shortest time period of 23 hours. Went to Air India's own website, and I can see the listed flights there at 8 times the cost. So my 8.5k IndiGo flight that got cancelled forced me to buy a 71k Air India flight instead."

He alleged that airlines routinely hike prices during crises—citing the Chennai floods as an example.

"Would request everyone to use the tiny little power we have left and not book any future flights from Indigo. Ask your company HRs to do the same for corporate flyers. Hundreds of cancellations a day just to bully DGCA into allowing Indigo to not follow their latest rules," the user wrote towards the end of his post.

Soon after the post went viral, Redditors were quick to weigh in. "This is what monopoly does in an economy. IndiGo could've easily managed DGCA guidelines months before. But no, they are trying to put pressure. Most flights which are getting are in busier airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata," a user commented. 

"71K?! That's daylight robbery to fly WITHIN the country," a second user wrote. A third user said: "Brother I flew to the USA for 50k. This is daylight robbery."

"This is exactly why people lose trust in airlines. They cancel without accountability, and passengers end up paying the price. I feel really bad this happened before such an important day for you," a fourth user commented.