Ranvir Shorey criticises airline over 10 hr delay, claims carrier didn't have a pilot

MUMBAI: Actor Ranvir Shorey has called out a commercial airline for an alleged 10 hour-delay, claiming the staff ''lied'' to him about the holdup citing bad weather issues.

Shorey, known for films such as ''Khosla Ka Ghosla'' and ''A Death In The Gunj'', alleged that the aircraft didn't have a pilot assigned for the flight he and seven friends were travelling in. Later, an IndiGo spokesperson said the team is ''actively working'' to address his concern. In a lengthy X post on Monday, the actor said he will file a complaint against the airline for the ''trauma'' he endured. ''A rough account of what @IndiGo6E put us through yesterday: Our flight was scheduled for 2 PM. All 8 of us checked in 2 hours prior as stipulated, and only then were we informed that the flight is 3 hours late due to bad weather (fog). ''We were not intimated prior to reaching the airport. Still, we did not complain, thinking there must have been a communication issue and were completely understanding, as we were aware that at this time of the year these things happen sometimes,'' Shorey wrote.

Last week, actors Radhika Apte and Surbhi Chandna also shared their air travel ordeal on social media. While Apte claimed she was among several passengers who were locked in an aerobridge for hours after their flight was delayed, Chandna slammed another air carrier for allegedly ''offloading'' her luggage and ''mentally torturing'' her.

In his post, Shorey, however, didn't name the airport he was boarding from.

But the flight kept getting delayed, he claimed, adding that according to the airline website their aircraft was supposed to come in from Kolkata, ''which had reported no fog issues'', and had already arrived at Bengaluru. ''When we confronted the Indigo staff with this information, he simply said that the website has not been updated properly, and gave us his 'personal guarantee' that the flight will take off at around 8 PM. This was important for me as my child would be alone at home if I did not get back by around 10-10:30 PM,'' the Mumbai-based actor continued.

Shorey, 51, claimed after a shift change and a few calls, the new staff told him ''the real reason'' behind the delay was that they did not have a pilot for the flight. ''He assured me that a pilot has now been assigned and the flight will take off by 10:30 PM. By now I was feeling completely helpless. I somehow made arrangements for someone to watch over my child as I knew that we had been fed lies non-stop for the last 8 hours and were in a hopeless situation.

''After this, we had to face another 2-3 hours of lies and delays before a pilot showed up and our flight took off at around midnight, 10 hours after the scheduled time of the flight! We will be filing a complaint for the trauma we have been doled out yesterday by @IndiGo6E in the name of air travel,'' he added in his post.

Later, the IndiGo team responded to the actor's post on X.

''Please rest assured that our team is actively working to address your concern and will be in touch with you again shortly. Your understanding is truly valued,'' the airline replied.

A significant number of flights were impacted at the Delhi and Mumbai airports in the last few days due to dense fog and low visibility conditions.