IndiGo flies into more trouble as over 300 flights cancelled across India

In a major disruption in India's aviation sector on Thursday (December 4), the country's largest airline IndiGo cancelled more than 300 flights -- including both domestic and international -- at major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and others. Chaos prevailed and passengers faced inconvenience as the airline was hit by operational disruptions that continued for the third day.

Several IndiGo flights were also delayed at various airports as the carrier grappled with crew issues and adjustments to schedules, resulting in its reputation for punctuality seriously compromised.

Also read: IndiGo chaos deepens as pilot-fatigue crisis and lean-manning strategy collide

As IndiGo's On Time Performance (OTP) on punctuality lost its elevation to plummet to less than 20 per cent (from 35 per cent on December 2), the airline struggled with the disruption of flights, with sources saying more than 300 of them were cancelled till Thursday afternoon.

At least 95 flights were called off in Delhi alone, while the figures stood at 85 in Mumbai, 70 in Hyderabad and 50 in Bengaluru. There were cancellations at other airports too, news agency PTI reported, quoting sources. A couple of international services, heading to Singapore and Siem Reap, Cambodia, were also affected.

DGCA-IndiGo meeting

The sources added that officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation were speaking with their counterparts from IndiGo to discuss the situation.

On Wednesday (December 3), DGCA said it was looking into IndiGo's flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

In late afternoon trade, IndiGo shares dropped over three per cent to Rs 5,417.90 apiece on the BSE.

Also read: DGCA launches probe, seeks mitigation plan as IndiGo cancels 100-plus flights

The sources said the airline has been facing an acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms.

While IndiGo has not issued any statement on Thursday, the airline, which operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, on Wednesday said a "multitude of unforeseen operational challenges" have significantly disrupted its operations across the network for the past two days, and apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience.

The airline is adjusting its schedules in a calibrated manner to normalise the situation.

What pilots' body says

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

Further, the pilots' grouping has urged the DGCA not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the new FDTL norms.

Also read: IndiGo, Air India face major disruptions as Airbus flags A320 software upgrade

Airline Pilots' Association of India has said the operational disruptions at IndiGo due to crew issues point to a failure of proactive resource planning by dominant airlines, and claimed that there could also be an effort to pressure regulator DGCA to dilute the new flight duty time limitation norms.

In a statement on Wednesday, IndiGo flagged various challenges, including "minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (FDTL) had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated".

Passengers stranded at airports

Several thousands of passengers, who were left stranded at the airports due to the disruption, expressed their concerns and frustrations on social media. A woman traveller, Rituparna Patgiri, wrote in an X post, “The IndiGo crisis clearly shows that monopoly is not a good thing.”

The Indigo crisis clearly shows that monopoly is not a good thing. #airlinescrisis

— Rituparna Patgiri (@Rituparna37) December 4, 2025

Another passenger shared his plight on X. A user named Aaraynsh said that IndiGo had created a mess at the Delhi airport.

“Multiple flights are cancelled. People heading for weddings, medical appointments, etc., are stuck. Customer support has a 20-minute wait time. After multiple cancellations, I finally boarded, and now the flight has been sitting on the runway for an hour because the cabin crew was left behind, and we’re waiting for her to reach,” he wrote.

Also Read: IndiGo, Air India face major disruptions as Airbus flags A320 software upgrade

Indigo has created a mess at Delhi airport. Multiple flights are cancelled. People heading for weddings, medical appointments etc are stuck. Customer support has a 20 minute wait time.After multiple cancellations I finally boarded and now the flight has been sitting on the…

— Aaraynsh (@aaraynsh) December 4, 2025

It is to be noted that the DGCA said the carrier cancelled at least 1,232 flights in November, including 755 flights due to the new crew rostering rules. The rules significantly impacted IndiGo’s overall OTP. In November, IndiGo recorded 67.7 per cent OTP, compared to 84.1 per cent in the previous month.

IndiGo provided the following summary of recent operational performance - A total of 1,232 flights were cancelled during the period. A large share of cancellations arose from crew / FDTL compliance and airport/airspace/ATC-related factors, many of which lie beyond the operator’s… pic.twitter.com/9v7pReqZAH

— ANI (@ANI) December 3, 2025

The airline faces operational challenges due to a shortage of crew, specifically pilots, following the revised FDTL norms introduced last month, which mandate more rest hours and more humane rosters.

New FDTL norms

As per the new FDTL norms, pilots are entitled to 48 hours of continuous rest, which must include two local nights. The norms also change the required rest hours before pilots can resume flight duties.

According to the new rules, pilots should receive 36 hours plus two local nights of rest if their previous flight crossed 3 to 7 time zones. The required rest time increases further for those who flew across more than 7 time zones or who completed long duty periods of less than 18 hours.

Also Read: Major chunk of India’s A320 fleet upgraded after Airbus safety alert

Initially, domestic operators, including IndiGo, opposed the new rules. However, the carrier implemented them following directives from the Delhi High Court. The first phase of these FDTL norms came into effect in July this year, and the second phase was implemented on November 1.

(With Agency inputs)