A regular flight journey turned into an itchy nightmare for passengers onboard an IndiGo flight from Lucknow to Delhi, after a swarm of mosquitoes entered the cabin and the staff didn’t do much to free them off. The mosquito menace left flyers swatting and scratching throughout the air travel.
A video and first-hand account of the ordeal was posted on social media, drawing similar reactions and suggesting it to be a recurring issue that, passengers alleged had been ignored by both the airline.
Journalist Manisha Pande shared her frustrating experience on X and wrote, “Took a Lucknow to Delhi @IndiGo6E flight with a swarm of mosquitoes today. The whole flight was spent scratching, swatting and just praying for the flight to get over”.
Cabin crew’s explanation
Pande further revealed that when she and fellow passengers questioned the crew and requested assistance, they received a nearly helpless explanation: “Door open tha, macchar aa gaye, kuch nahi kar sakte (The door was open, mosquitoes came in, nothing can be done)”.
However, as a makeshift solution, the crew reportedly handed out lemongrass patches, which the X user said “did nothing”.
The woman condemned the airline over poor hygiene, pointing out that the highly-priced tickets required decent quality of service.
“We paid ₹4,000+ per ticket for this. Not cheap. Not low-cost. Just low-effort,” she wrote, questioning why basic hygiene and service standards are often compromised unless passengers pay a hefty premium”, she wrote.
More details
Pande didn’t hold back her criticism, pointing out the lack of accountability from both the airline and the airport.
Calling out the systemic neglect, she added: “Airlines don’t care, airports can’t manage basic pest control, and passengers are just expected to take it quietly. It’s not just bad service, it’s a systemic rot.”
What’s more concerning is that this wasn’t an isolated incident. Plenty of complaints on X and even newspaper articles on ‘maccharon ka aatank’ were posted in the replies to her now-viral post.
Notably, she tagged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), urging authorities to take serious note of the situation. However, as of Tuesday afternoon, there is no official statement from the aviation authorities on the recent mosquito
