Chaos continued across India’s busiest airports as IndiGo’s operational crisis deepened, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) confirming that 1,232 flights were cancelled during the recent period, largely due to crew shortages and ATC-linked disruptions.
This comes after two consecutive days of turmoil, during which the airline cancelled around 200 flights — nearly 130 cancellations on Tuesday, followed by 70+ additional cancellations on Wednesday — leaving thousands of passengers stranded across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
MoCA breakdown: 1,232 total cancellations, majority due to FDTL crew constraints
According to the official press note:
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Total cancellations: 1,232
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Crew / FDTL constraints: 755
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ATC system failure: 92
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Airport / airspace restrictions: 258
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Others: 127
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MoCA added that 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.”
OTP plunges: November on-time performance at just 67.70%
The ministry further noted a sharp decline in IndiGo’s punctuality:
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Overall OTP for November: 67.70%
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OTP for October: 84.1%
Key contributors to delays included:
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ATC issues: 16%
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Crew-related operational issues: 6%
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Airport facility issues: 3%
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Others: 8%
How the crisis unfolded this week
Earlier, multiple reports highlighted widespread chaos across major airports:
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As per News18, nearly 200 flights were cancelled by Wednesday afternoon alone.
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PTI reported that 33 cancellations took place in Delhi and over 51 flights were cancelled in Mumbai, creating heavy congestion and long queues.
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Bengaluru and Hyderabad also witnessed significant disruptions.
The core reason behind the meltdown is the severe crew shortfall, triggered by the rollout of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms mandating longer mandatory rest periods.
IndiGo issues apology amid passenger anger
Acknowledging the crisis, IndiGo said:
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused. A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges — including tech glitches, winter schedule adjustments, adverse weather, congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules — had a negative compounding impact on our operations.”
The airline added that it has begun “calibrated adjustments” to stabilise operations over the next 48 hours, and advised passengers to check flight status before reaching the airport.
DGCA’s corrective measures
MoCA confirmed that DGCA has advised IndiGo to:
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Strengthen crew planning and rostering
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Enhance coordination with ATC and airports
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Improve turnaround and disruption-management processes
IndiGo has also been asked to report to DGCA Headquarters with detailed plans to mitigate ongoing delays and cancellations.
