The country’s leading private airline, IndiGo, continued to face large-scale flight disruptions on Thursday, stranding thousands of passengers nationwide. As per reports, more than 300 IndiGo flights have been cancelled today due to crew shortage and other reasons, leading to fresh chaos at key airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The disruptions at IndiGo have stranded thousands of travellers for three days in a row. IndiGo, with a domestic market share of over 60 per cent, was forced to cancel around 150 flights across the country yesterday.
The crisis has engulfed the private air carrier following the implementation of stringent government norms [Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) regulations] on crew safety. The tightened regulations have hit crew rosters badly at India’s largest airline.
It has been reported that at least 73 flights were cancelled at Bengaluru airport today, while Delhi saw 33 cancellations. At least 68 flights faced cancellations at Hyderabad. IndiGo Staff at the Mumbai Airport said some 85 flights have been cancelled from the financial capital. The cancellations include both domestic and international flights.
What IndiGo said on flight cancellations
IndiGo has said that several factors, including stringent flight duty time limits implemented by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have led to the cancellations of hundreds of flights this week. The updated norms that came into force on November 1 were brought in by the aviation regulator to tackle pilot fatigue. Under the revised norms, rest periods have increased, and some restrictions on night flying have been introduced.
Reacting to the widespread flight cancellations, IndiGo yesterday issued a clarification and stated that several unforeseen challenges, including minor technical glitches, winter schedule adjustments, bad weather, increased air traffic congestion, and the rollout of FDTL, have contributed to the current situation. The airline said yesterday that it was working to stabilise its operations, and as a result, calibrated schedule adjustments will be implemented over the next 48 hours. The airline expects the measures to normalise operations and gradually recover punctuality.
#WATCH | Telangana: Chaos at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad amid delay in IndiGo flights’ movement. pic.x.com/U46cyOmJxZ
— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2025
Meanwhile, DGCA has said that it is investigating the disruptions. IndiGo has been asked to submit a detailed report explaining the reasons behind the cancellations and also explain how it plans to reduce delays and minimise inconvenience for passengers. The regulator also stated that it has issued further clarification to IndiGo to streamline the implementation of the revised FDTL norms.
Where IndiGo ‘failed’
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has said that the airline failed to adjust its crew rosters on time and lacked in planning its schedule properly, which has led to the current crisis.
The Federation of Indian Pilots president, Captain CS Randhawa, was quoted as saying by ANI, “IndiGo operates approximately 2,200 flights all over India. Most of these flight disruptions, cancellations, and delays have been attributable to, firstly, the crew shortage. Secondly, they have been inducting aircraft. It must be appreciated that when you induct an aircraft, you must have an adequate number of crews per aircraft. Thirdly, IndiGo pilots were flying about 55 to 57 hours. After 1st November, they offered pilots the option to buy back their leave. The crew rostering of the pilots was totally inappropriate. They did not plan the crews correctly. Lastly, after the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitation), new CARs (Civil Aviation Requirements) came into effect by the order of the Delhi High Court on 1st of November, they immediately approached the DGCA and sought a variation. We have asked the DGCA how the variation or dispensation was given to IndiGo and other airlines, as this CAR had to be implemented. I request the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation not to grant such dispensations and variations, and to implement the CAR in totality. There are a lot of remedial measures which IndiGo has to take.”
The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) questioned the IndiGo management and DGCA oversight over the current crisis at India’s largest airline. The Association also suggested the disruptions could be a calculated move on the part of the airline.
“The situation concerning the recent flight cancellations across India allegedly attributed to pilot shortage due to new Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms, raises significant questions about the airline’s management, regulatory oversight by the DGCA, and market fairness. The core question is whether airline’s current pilot shortage is due to a failure in planning or a calculated strategy. It is more likely a combination of factors… This situation points to a failure of proactive resource planning by dominant airlines, potentially exacerbated by an effort to pressurise the regulator to dilute the promulgated FDTL norms for commercial gain. ALPA India urges the DGCA to actively consider the adequacy of pilots available with an airline while granting slots and approving their schedules in the spirit of transitioning to the recent concept of Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS),” the Association said.
IndiGo passengers react
Stranded passengers vented their ire at the airline. A passenger at the Kolkata airport told news agency IANS: “We had booked tickets for four people from Bagdogra to Bangalore, scheduled for December 3. When we reached the airport, we were told that yesterday’s flight was cancelled. They issued new tickets via Kolkata to Bangalore…”
“I had booked my ticket for ₹17,900 a few days ago. Yesterday the flight was cancelled, and today it has been cancelled again,” another passenger added.
Kolkata, West Bengal: Passengers face severe distress as an IndiGo flight from Bagdogra to Bangalore was cancelled for two consecutive days
A passenger says, “I had booked my ticket for ₹17,900 a few days ago. Yesterday the flight was cancelled, and today it has been cancelled… pic.x.com/qxqdOqeCnf
— IANS (@ians_india) December 4, 2025
The crisis has also hit the share price of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo. The shares fell over 3 per cent on Thursday due to the cancellations at the airline. The stock dropped to Rs 5,405 in the morning, its lowest level in over five months.
IndiGo had also informed the DGCA yesterday that it was forced to cancel a total of 1,232 flights since November 1, of which as many as 755 flights were scrapped due to crew shortage following the implementation of the FDTL norms. Another 258 flights were affected due to airspace restrictions, while 92 flights were impacted due to ATC system failure.