IndiGo Battles Nationwide Turbulence as Massive Crew Shortage Triggers Flight Chaos
IndiGo faced severe nationwide flight cancellations due to crew shortages heightened by new FDTL norms. DGCA intervened as thousands of passengers were stranded and the airline’s punctuality plunged dramatically.
India’s largest budget airline, Indigo, continued to grapple with widespread operational upheaval on Thursday as flight cancellations mounted for the third straight day. The disruption, rooted primarily in acute crew shortage, left thousands of travellers stranded across major airports, intensifying frustration during an already busy winter travel period.
Chaos unfolded at key hubs including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, where passengers found themselves facing long queues, repeated delays, and abrupt cancellations. Over 30 departures from Delhi alone were cancelled on Thursday morning, while Hyderabad witnessed nearly 33 cancellations, and Mumbai saw several flights abruptly removed from the schedule.
According to sources, over 170 IndiGo flights may be cancelled on Thursday, following nearly 200 cancellations reported across major metros on Wednesday.
IndiGo Acknowledges SEvere Operational Breakdown
IndiGo, operating nearly 2,200 flights every day, issued a statement acknowledging that its network had been “significantly disrupted” and extended an apology to its passengers.
The airline cited a string of unexpected operational hurdles, including mild system malfunctions, winter-season schedule adjustments, deteriorating weather, rising air-traffic congestion and, most critically, the newly enforced Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, which have reshaped crew scheduling patterns.
According to IndiGo, these factors combined to create a “negative compounding impact” that the airline had not anticipated. To stabilise its operations, IndiGo has introduced “calibrated schedule corrections” over a 48-hour window, aimed at restoring punctuality and reducing network-wide delays.
A substantial contributor to the crisis is the shortfall of pilots, worsened after November’s implementation of revised FDTL norms mandating longer rest hours, stricter night-duty limitations and more human rosters.
DGCA Steps In Amid Soaring Passenger Complaints
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has summoned IndiGo officials for a meeting as scrutiny intensifies. On Wednesday, the DGCA noted that it is reviewing the airline’s disruptions and has asked for a detailed plan to curb cancellations.
Official data shows that in November alone, IndiGo cancelled 1,232 flights, of which 755 were directly linked to crew shortages and FDTL constraints. Additional cancellations stemmed from airport or airspace restrictions (258 flights), ATC failures (92 flights) and other miscellaneous factors.
The cascading disturbances dragged IndiGo’s On-Time Performance (OTP) down to 67.7% in November, a steep fall from 84.1% in October, marking one of the airline’s most challenging operational months in recent years.
Understanding the New FDTL Norms
The revised FDTL framework mandates:
48 hours of weekly rest.
Extended definition of night hours.
Only two permissible night landings, compared to six earlier.
Although resisted by domestic carriers initially, including IndiGo, the DGCA implemented the norms following directives from the Delhi High Court. While phase one rolled out in July, phase two came into effect on November 1, directly influencing the current operational strain.
