Following instruction from Dubai airport, IndiGo and SpiceJet cancelled all its flights to Dubai, with incoming flights from Dubai and other airports in the Middle East experiencing delays because of air traffic congestion in Dubai. Three arrivals, including two from Dubai, suffered a delay of more than three hours, while another four flights to the Middle East departed after a delay of up to two hours.
SpiceJet announced that all the flights to and from Dubai had been cancelled, in accordance with instruction from Dubai airport authorities. "We are taking all possible measures towards passenger convenience and ensuring food and refreshments are being provided to all of them,” the carrier said.
An unannounced strike by the employees of ground handler Bhadra added to delays at the Chennai airport. Delays were experienced by those flying to Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh and Bahrain, whose Bhadra-employed baggage and cargo loaders did not report for duty at 7am.
An airport official said that a few international flights had to depart without their cargo consignments to avoid a hold up. "There cannot be delays in international sector because passengers will miss onward connections. Flights were already delayed and pilots of a few airlines did not want any further impact on the schedule so they left without cargo," a spokesperson said.
Some passenger had to be loaded by other staff at the airport.
Despite appearances, an Airports Authority of India official said it was not, in fact, a strike: "It was not a strike. A few Bhadra employees who reported for duty had not renewed their entry passes. Bureau of Civil Aviation Security officials insisted on seeing work order and started stamping their passes terming them contract employees. The workers objected to this, and this led to an argument which caused delay."
