'This is not an airplane': Uber driver's reply to Bengaluru rider goes viral after trip gets canceled

A quirky exchange between an Uber driver and a rider has gone viral after the driver abruptly canceled a booking with the message, “This is not airplane.”

A screenshot of the conversation, shared on Reddit by user hariprasadrangan, shows that the rider had booked a cab and sent a message asking the driver, “Are you coming?”

The driver responded, “If it is urgent book another. This is not airplane,” before canceling the ride.

Netizens reaction

While the exchange drew laughter online, many people also expressed concern over rising frustration among gig workers in the city’s high-demand ride-hailing market.

“Once I was in the same situation. I called the uber driver as in the app, it looked like the car didn't move. I call him up and he says in harsh tone "I'm coming, this is not a helicopter". I replied "Oh thank God I thought I booked a helicopter,” a user wrote.

“I tried talking to my rapido driver in broken kannada. He smiled and replied to all my conversations. At the end of the ride after I paid,right in front of me, he marked my rating 1 star and left,” another wrote.

“This happens to me as well when I do Rapido taxi. You can see my movement on your app. People still ask me "Are you coming?" I used to tell myself that it's because they got a lot of rejections but no, they just shoot the message for little to no reason. I use both my hands to drive. Why ask questions you don't need answer to just for the sake of it?” a third expressed.