IndiGo offloads luggage of 30 Army officers, laptops and uniforms left behind

At least 30 Army officers travelling from Jaipur to Chandigarh on IndiGo flight 6E-7516 were left stranded without their baggage on Friday after the airline offloaded their luggage citing “payload restrictions”, The Times of India reported.

The officers, on an official trip, realised on arrival in Chandigarh that they were without laptops, briefing papers and uniforms. Along with them, baggage belonging to at least five civilian passengers was also left behind in Jaipur, the report said.

One of the affected passengers, a woman travelling with her two children, said she was left without her medicines. “I need to take medicines every morning and at short intervals during the day. Now I am told my luggage will only arrive tomorrow morning,” she told TOI.

A Colonel travelling with the Army group expressed strong displeasure at the airline’s handling of the incident. “They do not understand the gravity of an armed forces man. No one informed us that our luggage was being offloaded, otherwise we could have made alternate arrangements. We have an important briefing tomorrow morning, and all our official material, including uniform, is in that baggage,” he told TOI, calling the episode “unprofessional”.

IndiGo, in a statement, confirmed the luggage had been left behind due to payload issues. “These were offloaded due to payload restrictions. We are making arrangements to deliver them as a priority. Our team is in touch with aggrieved passengers,” the airline said.

The incident sparked sharp criticism, particularly as it affected officers on duty. The flight had taken off from Jaipur at 1:45 pm and landed in Chandigarh at 3:10 pm, but passengers were informed at the conveyor belt that their bags were still in Jaipur, TOI reported.

This is not the first such case. In June, more than 100 passengers on an Air India flight to Leh discovered that their baggage had been left behind in Chandigarh after a long delay.

(With inputs from TOI)