IndiGo flight disruptions continue today with delays and cancellations as airline grapples with crew shortage

IndiGo is experiencing flight delays and cancellations across the country today, on 4 December, as well.

Video from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) shows the flight information display boards reflecting the disruptions, according to PTI.

A spokesperson for Bengaluru airport mentioned on Thursday that IndiGo cancelled 73 flights from the city today, reported Reuters, citing sources at the airport who said IndiGo cancelled at least 150 flights and delayed many more on Wednesday, stranding thousands of travellers.

In Hyderabad, sources at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport said that IndiGo is likely to cancel up to 33 outbound flights from the airport on Thursday. Similarly, 35 incoming flights are also likely to be cancelled during the day.

What did IndiGo say?

The airline, which operates about 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, said on Wednesday that a "multitude of unforeseen operational challenges" have severely disrupted its network operations over the past two days and apologised to passengers for the inconvenience.

An airline spokesperson explained in a statement that the challenges include “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 (Flight Duty Time Limitations) had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated.”

The airline mentioned it has initiated calibrated adjustments to its schedules.

"These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow us to normalise our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network. Our teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilize as quickly as possible," it stated yesterday.

ALPA reacts

The Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) mentioned that IndiGo’s operational disruptions, caused by crew shortages, highlight a failure in proactive resource planning by major airlines. The association also suggested that there might be an attempt to pressure the regulator, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to relax the new flight duty time limitation rules.

As of 2 December, IndiGo had a total fleet of 416 aircraft, with 366 in operation and 50 grounded, up from 47 the previous month, according to the aircraft tracking website Planespotter.com.

According to Reuters, citing government data, IndiGo’s on-time performance on Tuesday was only 35%, the lowest among all Indian airlines. Typically, the airline has maintained on-time performance above 80% at major airports in India this year.

(With inputs from agencies)