NEW DELHI: IndiGo’s operational crisis entered its fourth straight day on Friday, triggering widespread chaos at airports across the country, leaving thousands of passengers stranded with no food, water, vacant counters and lost luggages as chaotic scenes continued.IndiGo cancelled over 550 domestic and international flights on Thursday, far above its usual 170–200 daily cancellations, causing widespread disruption across major airports. Most affected routes were linked to Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa. According to PTI, airport-wise cancellations included 118 in Mumbai, 100 in Bengaluru, 75 in Hyderabad, 35 in Kolkata, 26 in Chennai and 11 in Goa, with several other airports reporting disruptions as well.Passengers stranded as cancellations soarAcross airports, frustrated passengers complained about long queues, no staff support, uncertainty over alternative flights and hours-long waits at baggage belts. Many shared photos on X showing crowds sleeping on luggage, overflowing check-in areas and piles of unattended bags.Sharing a post on X, one user wrote, “Spent the last 4h at Bangalore airport. Some people have been here for more than 13 hours. Every single Indigo flight has been delayed significantly and then cancelled. I still find privilege in having the opportunity to try and get on any flight so I can get to my meetings, yet, no flights available until 24h from now. This is not progress. Thousands stranded.”Another Bengaluru passenger described a staff interaction, “The plane is ready, but we don’t have a pilot to fly it.”Fares increased: Airlines reportedly increased fares amid the crunch. A Delhi–Bengaluru ticket for Friday/Saturday ranged between Rs 11,000 and Rs 43,145, while Mumbai–Kolkata fares touched Rs 19,000.Regulator demands fixes: The DGCA held multiple emergency meetings and directed IndiGo to stabilise operations immediately and ensure fares do not rise due to reduced capacity.To manage the crisis, IndiGo has requested temporary exemptions from certain FDTL provisions for its A320 fleet until February 10, 2026. IndiGo seeks exemptions: IndiGo assured the regulator that “normalized and stable operations will be fully restored by 10 February 2026.” The DGCA has asked IndiGo to submit a detailed roadmap on pilot hiring, training schedules, roster restructuring and safety assessments. A 15-day progress report is now mandatory.A DGCA inspection at Delhi’s Terminal 1 found passenger-handling manpower “inadequate”, and the airline has been told to urgently increase staff across affected terminals.Pilot associations have criticised IndiGo for poor planning. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) alleged that despite a two-year notice period, IndiGo “inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze.”IndiGo issues an apology: In a statement on X, IndiGo said, “We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events… IndiGo teams are working diligently… to reduce the cascading impact of these delays and restore normalcy.”The airline urged passengers to check flight status before travelling.Travel chaos spills over to other airlines: With IndiGo operating 65% of India’s domestic market, disruptions have hit other carriers too. Aircraft stuck at airports like Pune delayed the movement of other airlines.A Bengaluru-bound passenger told TOI that alternate flights were so expensive that “a ticket to Bengaluru had become pricier than a seat at a Taylor Swift concert.”Operations may stabilise only by February: IndiGo has informed the regulator that more cancellations are likely in the coming days. Flight operations will be trimmed from December 8 to reduce disruptions.India’s largest airline under pressure: IndiGo operates more than 400 aircraft, runs over 2,300 flights daily, connects 90+ domestic and 45+ international destinations, and flew 118 million passengers in FY25. It was recently named “Best Airline in India and South Asia” at the 2025 Skytrax Awards.
What caused the meltdown?
IndiGo attributed the disruption to “unforeseen operational challenges” including technical issues, weather interruptions and the rollout of revised crew duty rules (FDTL norms).The DGCA, however, said the disruptions stemmed from misjudging manpower needs under the new rules that limit pilot duty hours and night landings. After reviewing data, the regulator said the airline’s crew requirements “exceeded their anticipation”.IndiGo reported that for December, it has 2,357 captains and 2,194 first officers, insufficient under the new norms. Despite this, the airline increased domestic flights by 6% for the winter schedule—widening the gap between available pilots and scheduled flights.The DGCA said that, “These disruptions have arisen primarily from misjudgement and planning gaps in implementing phase 2 of the flight duty time limitation.”
About the Author
