IndiGo’s mass flight cancellations add to India’s growing travel chaos :
India’s travel turmoil has deepened after IndiGo — the country’s largest airline — cancelled hundreds of flights on Friday, following three days of major disruptions across its network.
The airline, which commands 60% of India’s aviation market and operates over 2,000 flights daily, has been struggling with a pilot shortage caused by its inability to adapt to new crew rostering regulations.
With the holiday and wedding travel season in full swing, thousands of passengers across the country have been left stranded, and all IndiGo departures from Delhi have been halted.
IndiGo announced that full operations are expected to be restored only by 10 February and has requested temporary relaxation of the updated rules, which mandate increased rest hours and restrictions on overnight duty. It has also said it will scale back its flight schedule from 8 December to reduce further disruptions.
The government has stated that it is monitoring the situation closely, while the federal aviation minister has expressed strong dissatisfaction with how the airline has handled the crisis.
In a separate note, India’s aviation regulator attributed the chaos largely to “misjudgment and planning gaps” in IndiGo’s implementation of the revised flight duty time limitation norms. The airline has been ordered to immediately submit a comprehensive plan addressing crew recruitment, training, roster restructuring, safety assessments, and other corrective measures.
At the same time, IndiGo has come under heavy criticism from the Airline Pilots Association of India, which argued that granting the airline any relief on duty-time requirements would undermine the intent of the new regulations and seriously compromise passenger safety.
The updated rules provide pilots with longer rest periods, including a major change that limits them to two night landings per week, compared to six under the previous guidelines.
December marks one of India’s busiest travel periods due to school vacations and the peak wedding season.
IndiGo has announced that cancellation and rescheduling fees for travel between 5 and 15 December will be waived. The airline is also arranging hotel stays and meals for affected passengers.
However, many travellers have taken to social media to voice frustration about the lack of timely updates and being left stranded at airports without food.
Singapore’s High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong, also reported being stranded and said he was “lost for words” after missing a staff member’s wedding due to the disruptions.
Major airports in Delhi, Mumbai, and other cities have issued advisories urging passengers to verify their flight status before travelling to the airport.
