India’s largest airline, IndiGo is witnessing an operational turmoil since the past two days. At least 250 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Thursday at major airports across India. The carrier is struggling to adapt to stringent new crew rostering rules. On Wednesday, the airline cancelled at least 150 flights and announced that it had initiated “calibrated adjustments” to its schedules for the next 48 hours.

The breakdown, which entered its third day on Thursday has left thousands of passengers stranded across major airports, leading to harassment and frustration of passengers and long queues. Severe chaos has been created at various airports in the country with frustrated passengers protesting.

IndiGo has been struggling with a shortage of pilots and cabin crew after new, stricter duty-time regulations came into effect on November 1. The updated rules sharply reduced the number of hours pilots can fly and increased mandatory rest requirements. The new norms required overhauls to duty schedules, night-landing plans and weekly rest charts. Insiders said the airline’s scheduling systems had not fully stabilised, and the new requirements created immediate crew deficits across high-density routes.

IndiGo flight delays and cancellations at major airports

IndiGo cancelled a total of 200 flights from multiple airports in the country on Wednesday. On Thursday, IndiGo cancelled numerous flights from several cities in the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad. As a result, passengers have faced extreme suffering. It is learned that at least 30 IndiGo flights were cancelled from Delhi this morning. Bengaluru alone saw 73 cancellations Thursday, the airport spokesperson confirmed to news agencies. Delhi lost around 30 flights, while Hyderabad recorded 68 cancellations, according to airport officials.

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport issued a statement saying IndiGo flights were impacted due to “airline-related technology and operational issues”, leading to delays and cancellations. While operations at the airport remained normal, it advised passengers to follow up directly with the airline for updates.

Meanwhile, the airline’s on-time performance has been steadily declining to 35 percent. On December 2, only 35% and on December 1 only 49.5% flights flew on time. Passengers are suffering due to this sudden out of control situation of the country’s largest airline. As a result of this, Shares of IndiGo, which has built its reputation on punctuality, fell 3.4 per cent on Thursday and are now down 6 per cent for the week. IndiGo, once celebrated for its trademark punctuality and the slogan “IndiGo Standard Time,” is now battling a reputational storm.

DGCA takes action

According to a Ministry of Civil Aviation notification issued Wednesday, IndiGo shared a summary of its recent operational performance, reporting that 1,232 flights were cancelled during the period. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken action in the entire incident. It is reported that the Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority have already sent summons to IndiGo authorities demanding an explanation for the widespread failure. The regulatory body sought clarity on compliance with FDTL norms and contingency planning as passenger dissatisfaction increases.

Why is IndiGo facing a problem?

It is reported that IndiGo is suffering from a terrible staffing crisis. The airline was already working with a nominal number of staff. The new duty rules made by the DGCA have further put the airline in trouble. According to the new rules, the duty hours of pilots can be a maximum of 8 hours per day and 35 hours per week. Crew must also receive rest periods equal to twice the duration of their flight duties, with a minimum of 10 hours of rest within any 24-hour window. The norms improve safety but require airlines, especially those with fast-turnaround models, to deploy more pilots per aircraft.

IndiGo’s large overnight network was particularly vulnerable to this change. As a result, many aircraft have to be grounded due to the lack of pilots. Many aircraft are not being operated on time.

IndiGo issues apology

The country’s largest airline has officially apologised for this problem. IndiGo said in a statement, “There have been problems in our services due to several operational and technical issues. For this, we apologise. Multi-level arrangements are being made to resolve this problem.” IndiGo claims that there are some systemic reasons for this service issue. The issue will be resolved soon.

IndiGo also urged passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. “We request customers to check the latest flight status … before heading to the airport. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused and remain fully committed to minimising disruption and supporting our customers through this period,” the airline stated.

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