IndiGo turmoil hits airports as flight cancellations leave passengers stranded

Chaotic scenes unfolded at airports across India over the last 24 hours, as angry passengers struggled to retrieve their luggage, with no food, no water, and empty IndiGo counters in sight.

One of the country’s largest airlines continued to grapple with operational issues that led to over 500 flight cancellations. Many travellers slept on the floor, while others erupted in anger and shouted slogans against the airline.

Sources said IndiGo on Thursday cancelled more than 550 domestic and international flights, and services were delayed at various airports.

Fliers protest mounting delays

Calling the situation “mental torture,” a passenger told NDTV that he had received no clarity from IndiGo even after 12 hours. “I’ve been here for more than 12 hours. Every time they tell us the flight is delayed by one hour or two hours. We were travelling for a wedding and didn’t even have our luggage. IndiGo staff isn’t saying anything. Worst airline right now. I don’t understand why they’re taking new passengers and piling up luggage,” he said.

Another passenger said he had been waiting at the airport since the previous afternoon. “They kept delaying the flight. We have no clarification from IndiGo,” he said.

“It’s very stressful. I’ve been sitting here at the airport for 14 hours. There are no food coupons or anything. My connecting flight got cancelled. People are shouting and howling, but the staff is not giving any clarification. The staff is not trained at all to handle such emergencies,” another flier said.

Similar scenes were reported at Hyderabad airport, where stranded passengers lashed out as they were not provided food or accommodation. A group of fliers even blocked an Air India flight in protest.

IndiGo admits planning lapses

On the other hand, IndiGo on Thursday told aviation watchdog DGCA that operations are expected to be fully stabilised by February 10, 2026, and sought temporary relaxations in flight duty norms on a day when the country's largest airline cancelled more than 550 flights, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers.

Acknowledging that the flight disruptions happening for the past few days are primarily due to misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, IndiGo also informed the regulator that there will be more cancellations till December 8 and from that day, there will also be a reduction in services.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held a high-level review meeting to assess the situation of significant flight disruptions and expressed his displeasure at the way IndiGo handled the new FDTL norms implementation despite having ample time.

The airline, which generally operates around 2,300 flights daily and presents its punctuality as a hallmark, recorded an on-time performance of 19.7 per cent on Wednesday, a steep fall from 35 per cent reported on Tuesday.

The airline has been instructed by the minister to proactively inform passengers of any likely cancellations well in advance, and DGCA will conduct strict real-time monitoring of IndiGo's operations.

Authorities monitor fare spikes

With some spike seen in airfares amid IndiGo flight cancellations, authorities are closely monitoring the situation, and the airline has also been asked to ensure that there is no increase in airfares due to the current disruptions.

Officers have been deployed to IndiGo's operational control centres for continuous oversight, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

In a significant development that might not go well with the pilots' community, IndiGo has sought certain exemptions from specific FDTL requirements for A320 plane operations till February 10, 2026, as part of efforts to normalise the operations.

Following the request, DGCA will review the FDTL relaxations sought by the airline. The airline told the regulator that crew requirements exceeded their anticipation and provided data, including projections.

More cancellations ahead: DGCA

IndiGo has informed the regulator that corrective actions are underway, stable flight operations will be fully restored by February 10, 2026, while more cancellations are expected in the next few days. The airline will reduce flight operations from December 8 to minimise disruptions, according to a statement issued by DGCA.

The regulator has also asked the airline to submit a detailed roadmap covering projected crew recruitment, viz-a-viz induction of aircraft, plans for crew training, roster restructuring, safety-risk assessments, and mitigation measures.

Besides outlining immediate measures to stabilise operations, the airline has been directed to submit a detailed progress report every 15 days, covering operational improvements, crew availability and roster stability.

Pilots flag planning failures

Meanwhile, the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) 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 pressurise regulator DGCA to dilute the new flight duty time limitation norms.

Pilots' body 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".

The airline's CEO Pieter Elbers told the staff that normalising operations and bringing back punctuality will not be an "easy target".

(With agency inputs)