For the fourth day in a row, passengers across the country have been caught in chaos as IndiGo continues to struggle with large-scale delays and cancellations. Airports in major cities witnessed long queues and confusion, with travellers trying to rebook or find alternate options. On Friday, December 5, more than 400 IndiGo flights were reportedly cancelled, adding to the already severe disruption. A day earlier, the airline’s on-time performance at six major metro airports crashed to just 8.5%.
What Led to the Disruptions?
IndiGo has issued multiple explanations over the past few days, pointing to a mix of operational and external factors.
According to the airline, technical issues, seasonal schedule changes, bad weather, heavy air-traffic congestion, and newly implemented crew duty regulations (FDTL) combined to trigger a domino effect that they “could not have foreseen.”
But the roots of this crisis go deeper.
Reports suggest that IndiGo had been struggling to align its pilot schedules ever since the government began enforcing stricter rules on pilot rest and flying hours. These new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) were introduced to address concerns over pilot fatigue — something airlines had resisted for nearly two years. The norms were to be applied in two stages following an order by the Delhi High Court in April 2025.
- From July 1: Weekly rest increased from 36 to 48 hours.
- From November 1: Additional restrictions on night-time flying hours came into force.
Airlines had warned that the November rollout could cause widespread flight disruptions because it would require more pilots. The government allowed extra preparation time, but it appears IndiGo’s planning fell short.
Since the full implementation of the second phase, the airline has reportedly been struggling to manage rosters, requesting pilots to withdraw leave and warning of shortages. But simmering dissatisfaction among pilots meant they were unwilling to co-operate. Years of frustration — long duty hours touching the DGCA limit of 13 hours, no salary hike despite profits of about ₹7,000 crore, and disagreements over how the new rules were being applied — added to the tensions.
During a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and DGCA chief Faiz Kidwai on December 4, IndiGo officials acknowledged “planning gaps and miscalculations” as key reasons for the current meltdown. In an internal message, CEO Pieter Elbers also admitted that disruptions spread quickly in a network of IndiGo’s size and require multiple layers of intervention to fix.
When Will Things Return to Normal?
The Civil Aviation Ministry has directed several immediate corrective steps and stated that flights are expected to start stabilising by Saturday, December 6.
According to the Ministry, complete normalcy should return within the next three days, provided all measures are followed as planned.
In the meantime, IndiGo has also asked for temporary relief from the newly enforced night-flying limits until February 10. The DGCA has said it will evaluate this request.
