Flight cancellations trigger chaos as grounded flyers turn to rails, roads, hotels

Passengers wait at the airport as IndiGo’s flight disruptions continue at Kempegowda International Airport

Receiving a flight cancellation notification opens a Pandora’s box. For those who can afford to postpone their plans, delay is an option. But for many others, travelling for work, weddings or emergencies, there is little room to manoeuvre. With airfares skyrocketing and alternative flights priced steeply due to capacity shortages, a growing number of passengers are abandoning the skies and switching to trains and buses to stay on the move.

businessline spoke to travellers who scrambled to find alternative routes to reach their destinations in time.

Nandini Nachiyar (name changed), a Chennai-based tech professional travelling to Bengaluru, said trains were her first choice once she received a cancellation alert from IndiGo. “I didn’t want to risk rescheduling again with IndiGo, it was a challenging experience. I immediately booked Vande Bharat back to Chennai as I had to report for work,” she said.

This is not an isolated case. Rahul G Das, a Bengaluru-techie, who switched from flying to a long-haul bus journey, summed it up: “You just can’t shell out that much money for a ticket, and the rates are equivalent or more than some of the international routes.”

Hotel players

For Hrithika, travelling from Kanpur to Bengaluru, there were barely any alternatives. Her flight was cancelled just four hours before departure. Tatkal train tickets were unavailable, and only one weekly train operates on the route. “The bus takes almost 40 hours, so we had to extend our stay in Kanpur and shift travel to Sunday,” she said.

Passengers like Hrithika have also become unexpected customers for hotel chains, particularly properties located near airports. Amit Raman, General Manager, Radisson Blu Pune Hinjawadi, told businessline that cancellations have triggered an immediate rise in last-minute bookings. “We’ve seen a 25-30 per cent increase in same day and next day reservations, pushing occupancy up by roughly 10-12 percentage points. The average daily rate (ADR) has also moved up moderately due to sudden demand,” he said. Most stranded travellers are opting for mid-segment hotels for comfort and convenience, while premium rooms are being picked by families and corporate crews. The typical stay duration, however, remains just one night.

Airport micro-markets, including Aerocity in Delhi, GMR Hyderabad Airport and Kempegowda Bengaluru, are experiencing the greatest strain, as travellers prefer staying close to terminals to coordinate re-bookings. Airlines, Raman said, are informally reaching out for blocked inventory, though formal tie-ups are limited and handled case by case.

Echoing the trend,Pranav Maheshwari, co-founder, Stay Vista, said there has been a significant spike in last-minute bookings near key airports in Goa, Delhi, and Bengaluru as travellers prioritise shorter, drivable stays amid uncertainty.