IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced an unprecedented operational crisis on Thursday after cancelling more than 550 flights—its highest single-day disruption in 20 years. This marks the third consecutive day of severe turbulence for the carrier as it continues to struggle with crew shortages, technical issues, and winter-related congestion across major airports.
The airline, which operates roughly 2,300 flights daily, acknowledged that it miscalculated workforce needs under the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms. As a result, IndiGo’s on-time performance plummeted to 19.7 percent on Wednesday, down from 35 percent on Tuesday.
Passenger impact was felt nationwide, with major hubs reporting extensive cancellations:
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Mumbai: 118 flights
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Bengaluru: 100 flights
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Hyderabad: 75 flights
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Kolkata: 35 flights
Government steps in as crisis deepens
Senior officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) met IndiGo’s top leadership to assess the situation and demand immediate corrective action. IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers also addressed employees, cautioning that improving punctuality would not be an “easy target.”
The airline stated that Phase 2 of the FDTL implementation has sharply increased crew requirements, particularly for night operations. To ease operational strain, certain duty restrictions have temporarily been relaxed.
IndiGo expects additional cancellations over the next two to three days as it works to stabilise schedules and streamline crew deployment.
