Cancellation of Air India Express flight leaves passengers fuming at Kannur airport

Anger bubbled over at Kannur International Airport in Kerala on Monday as Air India Express passengers staged a protest following unannounced flight cancellations and major schedule delays.

The disruption primarily affected two major routes: the morning service to Dubai and an early domestic flight to Thiruvananthapuram. Travellers, many of whom had arrived at the terminal in Mattannur as early as 5 am, were left frustrated by lack of timely communication from airline representatives.

The trouble began when flight IX 747, scheduled to fly from Kannur to Dubai on Monday morning, was abruptly cancelled. Disgruntled passengers alleged that they received no prior warning about the cancellation, with several of them only discovering the news after they had already departed for the airport or arrived at the terminal. While Air India Express representatives insisted that passengers had been notified and alternative arrangements were being sorted, affected travellers disputed these claims.

Simultaneously, chaos unfolded regarding flight IX 5107, scheduled to depart from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram at 7.05 am. Passengers had completed their check-in formalities before 5 am, only to be hit with a series of conflicting announcements. According to those on board, the airline first announced that the flight was cancelled, before backtracking to state it was merely delayed.

Faced with shifting stories and a lack of clear answers from ground staff, frustrated passengers began to protest inside the terminal. It was only after this public demonstration that airline officials offered a concrete response, attributing the delay to an unforeseen technical glitch.

Following the resolution of the technical issue, the Thiruvananthapuram flight finally departed at 12.55 pm, nearly six hours behind schedule. Airport officials stated that catering and resting arrangements were provided to the waiting passengers during the delay. However, the twin disruptions of the cancelled Dubai flight and the delayed Thiruvananthapuram service triggered a domino effect, throwing several other Air India Express departures from Kannur off-schedule for the rest of the day.