Over 1,200 IndiGo flights cancelled in November, most due to ‘crew, airspace restrictions’ — Here's what airline plans

IndiGo, India's largest airline, cancelled more than 1,200 flights in November due to reasons such as crew shortage, FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) constraints and airspace restrictions, ANI reported on Wednesday, citing a communication from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

According to the government data cited in the report, Indigo cancelled 1,232 flights in November, with 755 of the total cancellations attributed to crew and FDTL constraints. The development comes as IndiGo faced mass cancellations and delays across multiple airports on Wednesday, December 3.

The data further showed that 92 of the 1,232 flights were cancelled due to the air traffic control (ATC) system failure, while 258 flights were cancelled due to airport or airspace-related restrictions. The remaining 127 flights were cancelled due to other reasons.

“A large share of cancellations arose from crew/FDTL compliance and airport/airspace/ATC-related factors, many of which lie beyond the operator's direct control,” according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation statement, citing IndiGo.

IndiGo's on-time performance (OTP) for November 2025 stood at 67.70%, compared to its previous level of 84.1% in October 2025. On-time performance is a metric that measures delays in an airline's operations.

What led to the flight delays?

According to the ministry release, IndiGo's delay in flight operations in November was mainly due to ATC issues and other operational reasons. Also Read | IndiGo flyers stranded, long queues at airports amid mass cancellations, delays

ATC issues at 16%, operations-crew problems at 6%, airport facility issues at 3% and other operational reasons were the key contributors to the airline delays.

What does IndiGo plan to do?

IndiGo informed the ministry that it plans to strengthen its crew planning and rostering in compliance with the FDTL norms, according to the release cited by the news agency.

The airline also said that it plans to improve its coordination with ATC and airport operations to manage capacity constraints.

The company also plans to improve its turnaround time and disruption-management processes in order to reduce delays. Turnaround time in aviation is the total time taken to service an aircraft and ensure its compliance before the flight departs for its next operational route.

IndiGo apologised to its passengers for the inconvenience caused by the delays and cancellations, and recommended that its travellers check their flight status before reaching the airport.

“The inconvenience caused to passengers is regretted. Travellers are advised to verify flight status through official channels before departure,” IndiGo said, as per the ministry release.

According to the report, the DGCA is investigating IndiGo's flight disruption issues and its plans to cut cancellations and delays to minimise inconvenience to the passengers.