Two SpiceJet flights from Delhi to Dubai were hit with delays stretching beyond 24 hours this week, leading around 200 frustrated passengers to stage a protest at Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 that carried on from late Monday night into Tuesday.
Another SpiceJet Dubai Route, Another Delay Crisis
The Two Flights At The Centre Of It
Flight SG 5111 was originally scheduled to depart Delhi at 7:45am on Monday, but its departure was pushed back repeatedly before the flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 showed the service as cancelled altogether. Flight SG 5105 fared little better, scheduled to leave at 6:45pm Monday; it was delayed all the way to Tuesday afternoon, with passengers saying they received no fresh updates from the airline in the meantime.
Passengers Stage A Sit-In
Videos circulating on social media showed stranded travellers sitting on the terminal floor, demanding clarity on when, or if, they’d actually depart as per report by NDTV. Passengers alleged there was little to no SpiceJet staff presence on the ground to manage the situation or communicate updates. Delhi airport operator DIAL reportedly stepped in to provide food, water and rest areas for those affected while the disruption played out.
SpiceJet’s Response
The airline attributed the delays to “operational reasons” following the grounding of an aircraft and said it was arranging alternate flights for affected passengers. SpiceJet also issued an apology for the inconvenience caused.
Not An Isolated Incident
This is far from a one-off for SpiceJet’s Dubai network. Just days earlier, more than 100 passengers on a Pune–Dubai SpiceJet service were left stranded for over 20 hours. The airline’s Dubai-bound flights have faced a string of similar complaints in recent months, from double-digit-hour delays out of Mumbai and Kochi to a widely shared incident where a Dubai–Delhi flight landed with no checked baggage at all. For frequent flyers on the India–UAE corridor, it’s becoming a familiar and increasingly frustrating pattern.
Also Read: Mumbai Rains Hit Flight Operations; IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet & More Issue Advisories
What Travellers Should Know
If you’re flying SpiceJet’s Delhi–Dubai route in the near term, it’s worth building in extra buffer time and keeping a close eye on real-time flight-tracking apps rather than relying solely on airline updates. Given the frequency of these disruptions, travellers with tight onward connections in Dubai may want to consider alternate carriers on this specific sector until service reliability improves.
Cover Image Courtesy: Dayananda Saraswati, SpiceJet/X
FAQs
Did SpiceJet arrange alternate flights for affected passengers?
Yes. SpiceJet said it was arranging alternate flights for passengers affected by the delays and apologised for the inconvenience.
Why were the SpiceJet Delhi-Dubai flights delayed?
SpiceJet cited operational reasons following the grounding of an aircraft as the cause of the delays.
