More than 200 passengers bound for Singapore were stranded on board IndiGo flight 6E 1025 for over four hours at Chennai airport on Tuesday after the Airbus A321 returned to bay with a technical snag. While engineers addressed a cabin-temperature alert, immigration complications prevented authorities from de-boarding travellers who had already cleared exit control. (indiatoday.in)
Because India’s Bureau of Immigration would have had to cancel exit stamps and re-process every passenger, the airline opted to keep everyone on the aircraft until a replacement crew arrived—the original pilots had exceeded flight-duty limits during the delay. Videos of frustrated passengers went viral, reigniting debate about India’s lack of sterile holding lounges for international departures.
![Four-hour tarmac wait on IndiGo Chennai–Singapore flight highlights visa and crew-duty pitfalls]()
For travelers who want to avoid any added anxiety over documents when such hiccups occur, VisaHQ can be a lifesaver. The service (https://www.visahq.com/india/) simplifies visa applications, offers real-time status tracking, and provides expert guidance on entry and exit requirements—support that can prove invaluable if you suddenly find yourself stuck on a plane while immigration officials sort out next steps.
Aviation analysts note that Chennai handles 110 international departures daily but has only eight remote gates equipped for international transit, limiting flexibility when an aircraft returns after passport control. The incident also exposes how crew-duty time rules, tightened last month, can cascade into long delays if technical snags occur close to push-back.
Travel managers are advised to schedule tighter crew buffers and to brief employees on potential delays when flying out of Tier-2 international gateways. The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked airport operators to study the feasibility of post-immigration holding areas to allow safe de-boarding in similar situations.
Because India’s Bureau of Immigration would have had to cancel exit stamps and re-process every passenger, the airline opted to keep everyone on the aircraft until a replacement crew arrived—the original pilots had exceeded flight-duty limits during the delay. Videos of frustrated passengers went viral, reigniting debate about India’s lack of sterile holding lounges for international departures.
For travelers who want to avoid any added anxiety over documents when such hiccups occur, VisaHQ can be a lifesaver. The service (https://www.visahq.com/india/) simplifies visa applications, offers real-time status tracking, and provides expert guidance on entry and exit requirements—support that can prove invaluable if you suddenly find yourself stuck on a plane while immigration officials sort out next steps.
Aviation analysts note that Chennai handles 110 international departures daily but has only eight remote gates equipped for international transit, limiting flexibility when an aircraft returns after passport control. The incident also exposes how crew-duty time rules, tightened last month, can cascade into long delays if technical snags occur close to push-back.
Travel managers are advised to schedule tighter crew buffers and to brief employees on potential delays when flying out of Tier-2 international gateways. The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked airport operators to study the feasibility of post-immigration holding areas to allow safe de-boarding in similar situations.
