India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has cancelled more than 300 flights since Tuesday, disrupting travel across several of the country’s busiest airports and stranding thousands of passengers nationwide.
Major airports report high numbers of cancellations
The worst disruption has been reported at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. On Thursday morning, ANI news agency reported 33 IndiGo flight cancellations at Delhi airport, 85 at Mumbai, and 73 at Bengaluru.
IndiGo connects major metropolitan areas with smaller cities and holds more than 60% of India’s domestic aviation market.
Airline cites multiple operational factors
IndiGo said the cancellations were due to a combination of technical glitches, weather conditions, and the impact of new crew rostering rules. The airline said it had made “calibrated adjustments” to its flight schedule until Friday in an effort to stabilise operations.
Passengers shared videos of crowded terminals and delays on social media. Many customers posted complaints on X. Most received a standard response from the airline stating: “Our operations are dependent on several factors, some of which are beyond our control and may impact the schedule.”
Regulator seeks explanation as staffing issues draw scrutiny
India’s aviation regulator is reported to be reviewing the situation and has asked IndiGo to explain the reasons behind the widespread delays and cancellations.
Media reports say that since 1 November, the airline has been facing pilot and cabin crew shortages following the implementation of new Flight Duty Time Limit rules. The new rules restrict flight hours and require additional mandatory rest periods for crew.
The Federation of Indian Pilots said the cancellations “cannot be attributed” to the new duty time regulations, noting that other airlines remain largely unaffected by the changes.
The BBC has contacted IndiGo for comment.
Reputation impact for punctuality-focused carrier
The disruption adds pressure on IndiGo’s reputation for on-time performance, which helped establish the carrier over the past two decades. Its punctuality record has shown strain in recent months.
According to a survey conducted by online community platform LocalCircles, 54% of IndiGo passengers reported facing issues with the airline’s timeliness over the past year.
Featured image credits: TA Gonsalves via Wikimedia Commons
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