Video of Passengers Sitting on Tarmac Viral as Recent Amid IndiGo Disruptions

The viral image is from a January 2024 incident involving a flight from Mumbai to Goa

A viral post claims that airports have now "become like railway stations."

(Source: X(formerly Twitter)/Altered by The Quint)

A photo showing airline passengers sitting on an airport tarmac and eating is going viral on social media amid ongoing outrage over the IndiGo crisis, which began on 2 December and has led to thousands of flight cancellations and widespread disruption across Indian airports.

What's the claim?: The post is being circulated with political commentary, claiming that airports have now "become like railway stations."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source:X/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar posts can be found here and here.)

Why is it being shared now?: The claim is circulating because of the ongoing IndiGo operational crisis, which began on 2 December.

• The disruption has led to over 3,000–4,000 flight cancellations, massive crowds at airports, and widespread confusion caused by crew-rostering issues and DGCA-mandated restrictions.

• Amid this frustration, older visuals of airport chaos are resurfacing online, with users attaching them to the current crisis to make political or sarcastic commentary.

What's the truth?: The claim is misleading.

• The image has no connection to the ongoing IndiGo crisis.

• It is from an isolated incident in January 2024, when passengers on a Mumbai–Goa IndiGo flight were made to sit on the tarmac after a delay.

• The airline was later penalised for allowing passengers onto the runway, which was deemed a breach of security protocols.

What we found: We ran the image on Google reverse image search.

• It led us to an Assam Tribune post on X, formerly Twitter, published on 19 January 2024, showing similar visuals of passengers sitting on the tarmac and eating.

• News reports, including an NDTV report from 19 January 2024, confirm that passengers on an IndiGo Mumbai–Goa flight were made to disembark and sit on the tarmac after a long delay, where food was served to them on the runway itself.

• Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia later described the incident as a security breach, and IndiGo was subsequently fined for the violation.

• The extensive coverage of the ongoing 2025 IndiGo disruption does not contain any news report linking any tarmac-dining or similar runway incident to the 2025 crisis.

Conclusion: The photo of passengers sitting on a tarmac and eating is not from the recent IndiGo crisis. It is serving misleading and inaccurate impression of current events.

Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)