IndiGo Cancels Over 180 Flights Across Three Major Airports
IndiGo’s massive flight disruptions tied to crew shortage under new FDTL norms
Mumbai, Dec 4: IndiGo cancelled more than 180 flights across three major airports on Thursday as India’s largest airline continues to struggle with an acute crew shortage triggered by the implementation of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms for pilots.
According to sources, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru were the worst affected, with cancellations expected to rise through the day.
At Mumbai Airport, the airline scrapped 86 flights 41 arrivals and 45 departures.
In Bengaluru, 73 flights were cancelled, including 41 arrivals.
At Delhi Airport, 33 flights were cancelled by morning, with more likely later in the day.
IndiGo’s On-Time Performance (OTP) has taken a severe hit, plunging to 19.7% across six key airports Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad on December 3. This marks a steep fall from 35% recorded just a day earlier.
Industry sources said IndiGo has been facing “acute crew shortage” since the rollout of the second phase of the FDTL norms, causing widespread delays and operational disruptions nationwide.
The DGCA has launched an investigation into IndiGo’s ongoing disruptions and has asked the carrier to submit detailed reasons for the cancellations, along with an action plan to stabilise operations.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) criticised IndiGo for imposing a “hiring freeze” despite having a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of the new FDTL norms. The pilots’ body has urged the DGCA not to approve airlines’ seasonal schedules unless they have sufficient crew to operate flights “safely and reliably.”
In a letter to DGCA, the FIP requested that flight slots be reallocated to airlines capable of operating them without disruption during the peak travel and fog season, should IndiGo fail to meet its obligations to passengers.
