Travel plans for thousands of passengers were thrown into disarray for a third straight day as IndiGo cancelled more than 200 flights on 4 December and over 500 domestic and international services the day after, even as the airline scrambled to recalibrate schedules and restore pilot availability.
Late on Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said IndiGo had accepted that it had misjudged crew requirements while implementing the second phase of India’s Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms—fatigue-management regulations that cap flying hours and mandate rest periods for pilots.
According to the regulator, IndiGo informed officials that while it required 2,422 captains in November, it had only 2,357 available. IndiGo warned that cancellations would continue for two to three days as part of “schedule stabilisation efforts” and said operations would be reduced from 8 December to minimise further disruption.
Following widespread public anger and social-media complaints from stranded passengers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and other cities, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu chaired a review meeting with IndiGo executives and the DGCA. According to the ministry, the minister expressed “clear displeasure” with how the airline handled the situation and noted that IndiGo had ample preparation time to meet the revised regulatory requirements.
He directed the carrier to normalise operations urgently and ensure no fare increases linked to the crisis.
IndiGo’s share price fell nearly 7 percent between 1 and 5 December.
The DGCA said IndiGo had been experiencing 170–200 cancellations per day, far above normal levels. A DGCA inspection at Delhi Airport Terminal 1, the busiest node for disruptions, found insufficient ground staff to manage crowds. The regulator ordered the airline to immediately increase manpower and passenger-support services at affected terminals.
IndiGo was also asked to submit a detailed hiring and aircraft-induction roadmap, linking future crew recruitment with fleet expansion.
IndiGo requested a temporary relaxation from two clauses in Phase II of the FDTL rulebook: Para 3.11 and Para 6.1.4. These restrict flight-duty hours and night-time operations between midnight and 6 am to reduce pilot fatigue during the Window of Circadian Low (WOCL), the period between 2 am and 6 am when alertness is typically lowest.
On 5 December, the DGCA issued a one-time written exemption allowing IndiGo to operate A320 aircraft with temporary relief from these provisions until 10 February 2026, subject to mandatory reviews every 15 days and a compliance roadmap within 30 days.
While granting the waiver, the regulator stated that “primary accountability rests with the operator” for inadequate planning.
Also Read: IndiGo’s mass cancellations reveal India’s aviation fatigue crisis
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) had earlier stated that the disruption was not caused by the fatigue norms. The group said IndiGo had a two-year preparatory window yet implemented a hiring freeze, maintained non-poaching arrangements and imposed a pilot pay freeze, arguing these actions contributed to staffing shortages during peak winter operations.
As IndiGo’s disruptions deepened, passengers flooded X with videos of crowded terminals, people sleeping on the floor and departure boards still showing “on time” despite repeated delays and last-minute cancellations. One flyer posted from Delhi about “absolute chaos” at the airport after waiting more than seven hours with no clear information, while another from Pune said people had been stuck at the terminal for over 12 hours with little staff support.
At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, visuals showed passengers sprawled across staircases and gate areas “like a camp” as 118 IndiGo flights were cancelled in a single day, forcing many to book expensive emergency tickets, with some fares reportedly crossing Rs 23,000 and certain routes sold out altogether.
In Bengaluru, travellers shared clips of flyers lying on the floor and queues stretching across the terminal, with one user alleging they had been at the airport for more than 12 hours without food or water.
In public messages posted on X, IndiGo said, “The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers.”
The airline announced automatic refunds, fee-free cancellations or rescheduling, hotel accommodation for stranded travellers, food service at terminals and lounge access for senior citizens.
Separately, IndiGo cancelled all domestic flights departing from Delhi on 5 December until 11:59 pm, advising passengers to approach ground staff for baggage retrieval and rebooking assistance.
IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers told staff that returning operations to normal in the “coming days” was “not an easy target”, acknowledging that congestion, technology issues, bad weather and new pilot-rest rules had combined to disrupt operations nationwide.
In an email to employees, screenshots of which were later circulated on social media, Elbers said the disruptions escalated quickly because of the size and complexity of IndiGo’s network, which serves 380,000 passengers a day. He reiterated that operational challenges “negatively compounded” into a cascading failure but expressed confidence that teams would recover performance.
Pointing to IndiGo’s rapid software upgrade of 200 Airbus A320 aircraft in 24 hours in late November, he said the airline would “prove its mettle” again in restoring punctuality.
IndiGo says operations will normalise progressively over the coming days, but full stability is projected only by 10 February 2026, when FDTL compliance, staffing ramp-ups and schedule cuts are expected to align.
For now, passengers may continue to face cancellations.
First Published: Dec 05, 2025, 16:49
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