IndiGo ops ‘steadily resuming’, fewer than 1,000 cancellations likely today | Key updates
Scenes of chaos unfolded across airports in the country, after IndiGo cancellations hit major hubs including Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
IndiGo has been in the midst of an “operational crisis” – as termed by the airline – over the past few days, with well over 1,000 flight cancellations in a single day on Friday.
As the carrier struggled with getting its flights airborne, scenes of chaos unfolded across airports in the country, after cancellations hit major hubs including Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The airline, India's largest, has attributed the crisis to a “multitude of unforeseen operational challenges”, also citing minor tech glitches, winter schedule changes and the weather.
However, aviation insiders and regulators have pinned the reason to be the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). The new duty-hour rules, brought in to ensure flight crew rest, are primarily designed to prevent pilot fatigue. The rules were introduced in January 2024, but were not enforced till now. The DGCA has attributed the disruptions to IndiGo's “misjudgment and gap in planning” in implementing these rules.
IndiGo flight cancellations: Recent developments
Delhi airport says ops resuming: The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi late on Friday said IndiGo's flight operations were “steadily resuming” and “getting back to normalcy”. In an advisory, the airport asked passengers to check the status of their booking and flight before leaving their home.
IndiGo apologises again: Meanwhile the airline, in a post on social media platform X, apologised for the inconvenience to passengers. “While this will not get resolved overnight, we assure you that we will do everything in our capacity to help you in the meantime and to bring our operations back to normal at the earliest,” IndiGo said in the statement.
Less than 1,000 cancellations today: In a video statement, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said that cancellations are expected to be below 1,000 on Saturday. He said things are expected to return to normal between December 10 and December 15. “December 5 was the most severely impacted day, with the number of cancellations well over 1000. I extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience it has caused to our customers,” Elbers said.
IndiGo working to resolve issues: The airline said that it was “doing all that is necessary” to reboot its systems and schedules for “progressive improvement” starting Saturday. “Our teams are working to reinstate regular operations in alignment with the Ministry and DGCA,” IndiGo said.
Full refund on cancellation: The airline will be giving passengers a “full waiver” on all cancellations and rescheduling requests of bookings between December 5,2025 and December 15, 2025.
Minister orders high-level inquiry: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the disruptions, while saying that “accountability will be fixed” and measures taken to avoid such circumstances in the future. He further said the FDTL orders issued by the DGCA have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect to stabilise flight operations.
