IndiGo flight status Highlights: Govt orders probe, CEO promises normalcy in days

IndiGo flight status LIVE: Passengers wait with their baggage as several IndiGo flights were cancelled at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Friday.

IndiGo flight status Highlights: Aviation watchdog DGCA modified its guidelines for rest for airline crew members amid massive cancellations of IndiGo flights. The watchdog had earlier specified that “no leaves shall be substituted for weekly rest”, but the particular instruction now stands withdrawn. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Friday that it “has taken measures for immediate implementation by airlines, especially Indigo, to resolve the severe disruption in flight schedules and stabilise services without delay. Two orders have been issued to mitigate the problems faced by the public and restore stability of services especially by Indigo.”

The IndiGo airline chaos entered the fourth day on Friday, with over 500 cancellations in a single day and the overall number crossing the 1,100-mark. The worst-hit was the Delhi airport, where all IndiGo flights for today stand cancelled, followed by Chennai, where all flights till 6 pm are cancelled.

The airline's CEO, Pieter Elbers, said on Friday that on Saturday, flight cancellations are expected to be below 1,000. “Given the size, scale and complexity of our operations, it will take some time to return to a full normal situation, which we anticipate between 10 and 15 December,” he said.

Here are some key details you need to know:

How many flight cancelled at which airport?

Over 500 flights were cancelled across airports in India on Friday, and the total number of flights cancelled since December 2 crossed 1,100. Here's a break-up of how many IndiGo flights were cancelled at which airport:

Delhi - All flights cancelled for the day (earlier figure was 225)

Bengaluru - 102 (50 departures and 52 arrivals)

Mumbai - 104 (53 departures and 50 arrivals)

Hyderabad - 92 (49 departures, 43 arrivals)

Goa - 30

Chennai - All flights cancelled till 6 pm

Ops to return to normalcy by February 10

IndiGo has informed aviation watchdog DGCA that operations are expected to be fully stabilised by February 10 next year, sparking even more concerns among passengers who have already booked flights for the coming two months. Huge crowds of IndiGo customers were seen across airports in India over three days as multiple flights got delayed and many more were cancelled.

DGCA's U-turn on key roster norm for pilots

The flight disruptions have largely been owed to new flight duty norms that took effect on November 1 and IndiGo's struggles with implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms. However, the DGCA rolled back on a key instruction in the norms that said “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”.

The new provisions had limited pilot duty hours across airlines at night, even as IndiGo's requirement for pilots-in-command has only been increasing.

IndiGo apologises

The airline has so far issued apology twice, expressing regret over the ongoing delays and cancellations. HT earlier reported that the airline informed aviation watchdog DGCA that full restoration of operations would happen by February 10.

After being briefed by IndiGo on the ongoing crisis, the DGCA in a statement said: “The disruptions have arisen primarily from misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing Phase 2 of the (Flight Duty Time Limitations), with the airline accepting that the actual crew requirement exceeded their anticipation."

Air fares surge, more cancellations expected

Amid the ongoing cancellations, air fares of airlines apart from IndiGo have exponentially gone up. According prices available on SkyScanner, a Delhi-Bengaluru Akasa Air flight for Saturday costs ₹40,000 and a Delhi-Mumbai SpiceJet flight for the same day costs ₹25,000.

Besides, IndiGo has informed the aviation regulator that more cancellations can be expected till December 8, and even after that there would be a significant reduction in services.