Goa – Pune SpiceJet flight delayed by 8 hours, passengers express frustration

Pune: Passengers on SpiceJet’s SG-184 flight from Goa to Pune experienced significant frustration on Wednesday due to an eight-hour delay caused by multiple reschedulings. Over 150 passengers faced a harrowing ordeal as the flight, initially scheduled to depart from Manohar International Airport in Goa at 2 PM, finally took off at 11 PM.

SpiceJet attributed the delay to scheduled aircraft maintenance, claiming that passengers were informed in advance. However, many travelers reported that they had to check out of their hotels as planned, leading to further inconvenience and additional costs.

One passenger shared, “Staying back at the hotel would have been a costly affair as we would have had to pay for an additional day.” Another passenger, who preferred to remain anonymous, highlighted that the check-out time at their hotel was 12 noon. 

“I chose the flight based on the original schedule. After receiving the rescheduling message, I spoke with the hotel staff, but they informed me that staying beyond check-out would incur charges for an extra day. We had no choice but to leave the hotel.”

The flight was first rescheduled to depart at 7:30 PM, and passengers arrived at the airport by 6 PM. However, boarding was further delayed, and the aircraft did not take off until 11 PM. A source from the airline mentioned that a second message, notifying passengers of an 8 PM departure, was also sent, though many passengers reported not receiving timely updates.

While an official response from SpiceJet is still awaited, the delay has sparked considerable dissatisfaction among the affected passengers, emphasizing the challenges faced due to unexpected schedule changes and the importance of timely communication from airlines.