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Crew Shortage and New Duty Time Norms Trigger Massive Disruptions, Stock Slides, Pilot Bodies Accuse Airline of Poor Planning
New Delhi:The country’s largest airline, IndiGo, on Thursday cancelled more than 300 domestic and international flights across major airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, extending operational chaos for the third consecutive day and severely disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers.
Apart from cancellations, a large number of flights faced significant delays as the airline struggled with crew shortages, roster adjustments and cascading schedule disruptions. Known for its punctuality, IndiGo suffered a massive blow to its performance with its On-Time Performance (OTP) plunging to a low of 19.7 per cent on Wednesday, down sharply from 35 per cent recorded on December 2.
Sources said that till Thursday afternoon, at least 95 flights were cancelled at Delhi airport, 85 at Mumbai, 70 at Hyderabad, and around 50 at Bengaluru, with more cancellations reported from other airports across the country.
Data from six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — confirmed the dramatic collapse in IndiGo’s punctuality, raising concerns over systemic operational stress at the airline.
DGCA Calls Emergency Meeting, Shares Slide Over 3%
Amid growing passenger outrage and flight chaos, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) held a meeting with IndiGo officials to review the situation. The regulator has already asked the airline to submit a detailed explanation for the disruptions and a concrete action plan to reduce flight cancellations and delays.
The crisis also rattled the stock market. IndiGo shares fell over 3 per cent in late afternoon trade on the BSE, slipping to ₹5,417.90 per share, reflecting investor चिंता over the prolonged operational instability.
While IndiGo did not issue any fresh statement on Thursday, the airline had earlier admitted that a “multitude of unforeseen operational challenges” had disrupted its network over the last two days. It cited minor technology glitches, winter schedule changes, adverse weather, airspace congestion, and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules under the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) as contributing factors. The airline said it is recalibrating schedules to normalise operations.
IndiGo currently operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, making the scale of the disruption particularly significant.
Pilots’ Bodies Blame Hiring Freeze, Warn Against Diluting Safety Norms
Aviation unions have squarely blamed the crisis on poor manpower planning. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) alleged that despite being given a two-year preparatory window for the full implementation of the new FDTL norms, IndiGo inexplicably adopted a “hiring freeze”, which has now resulted in an acute cockpit crew shortage.
The FIP urged the DGCA not to approve seasonal flight schedules unless airlines demonstrate that they have sufficient manpower to operate flights safely and reliably under the new duty and rest regulations.
The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) also criticised IndiGo, stating that the disruptions reflect a failure of proactive resource planning by dominant airlines. ALPA further claimed that some airlines could be trying to pressure the regulator to dilute the new safety-driven FDTL norms.
The continuing disruptions have left passengers stranded, forced many to rebook at higher fares, and raised serious questions about India’s aviation preparedness amid rising demand and tighter safety regulations. With DGCA now closely monitoring the situation, pressure is mounting on IndiGo to stabilise operations swiftly and restore passenger confidence.
