IndiGo, India’s largest domestic airline, confronts its worst operational disruption in history, with over 4,500 cancellations since last Tuesday. On Monday, as the crisis continued for the seventh consecutive day, passengers were still looking at delays, crowded airports, and confusion among the flying public despite timely intervention by the government and relief measures by the airlines.
Timeline of Flight Cancellations
The situation escalated rapidly over the past week:
Tuesday: Over 150 flights have been cancelled.
Wednesday: Nearly 200 flights cancelled, on-time performance plummets to 19.7%
Thursday: More than 300 flights cancelled, disrupting international operations too.
Friday: About 1,600 cancellations—the largest single-day disruption in the airline’s history.
Saturday: About 850 flights cancelled.
Sunday: Approximately 650 flights cancelled.
Monday: The travel chaos continued across major airports, with more than 300 cancellations being reported from Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
Major Airports Crippled
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata suffered the severest setbacks. The disruptions faced on Monday included the following at certain airports:
Bengaluru: 65 arrivals and 62 departures cancelled.
Delhi: 134 cancellations.
Chennai: 77 cancellations.
Terminals were packed late into the night with passengers struggling to rebook flights or trace their missing luggage. At Delhi’s Terminal 1, for instance, unclaimed baggage created chaos with passengers having to sift through rows upon rows of suitcases. Many stranded travelers had no accommodation or assistance, underlining the scale of the operational meltdown.
Why IndiGo’s Operations Collapsed
Experts identify several factors that have caused this airline crisis:
A persistent shortage of pilots.
Delays caused by an advisory about Airbus A320 software.
That includes abrupt enforcement of strict Flight Duty Time Limitations for the crew.
Aggressive expansion of the IndiGo winter flight schedule since October 26.
New fatigue rules, which included longer rest periods for pilots and limits on night flights, sent hundreds of crew members into mandatory downtime after weekend flights that had been delayed past midnight. IndiGo’s high-utilisation model depends heavily on night flying and fast turnarounds, and its systems were unable to cope with the sudden reduction in available crew, resulting in flight cancellations and operational chaos on a large scale.
Also Read: DGCA Extends IndiGo Deadline: Airline Gets Time Till 6 PM Monday to Answer Show-Cause Notice
