Flight chaos! IndiGo cancels dozens more flights — thousands stranded nationwide

Bengaluru Airport confirmed that 73 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Thursday, the Economic Times reported. Hyderabad witnessed similar chaos, with at least 68 flights to and from the city being cancelled.

This comes after a crippling day on Wednesday, when around 150 IndiGo flights across multiple airports were either cancelled or severely delayed, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

The operational collapse has been largely attributed to a shortage of crew following the implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms last month.

The new rules mandate longer rest periods and more humane rostering for pilots and cabin crew. IndiGo has been forced to realign its extensive network, but the transition has triggered massive disruptions.

Many flights were grounded because of the unavailability of cabin crew, while several others faced delays stretching up to eight hours. Given IndiGo’s dominant 60% share of India’s domestic aviation market, the cascading impact has been felt throughout the aviation ecosystem.

In a statement, IndiGo acknowledged the nationwide disruption and apologised to passengers, citing “unforeseen operational challenges” including minor technical issues, winter schedule changes, adverse weather, airspace congestion, and the impact of new crew-rest norms.

Frustrated passengers took to social media to express their ordeal. “I have been stranded since 3 a.m. and have missed an important meeting,” one traveller wrote on X. Another said their flight faced repeated delays with little communication from the airline.

At Delhi Airport, matters worsened due to a slowdown in the Amadeus system, a software used by several airlines for check-in and departure control. The technical bottleneck led to long queues and sluggish processing, adding to the manpower strain.

IndiGo has advised travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport as the situation remains fluid.