IndiGo continued to struggle with serious operational problems on Thursday. Delays and cancellations hit airports across the country for the third straight day. Large crowds gathered at terminals as passengers waited for updates. Many stood in long lines, while others sat on the floor with their luggage.
Social media filled with videos showing the growing confusion at airports. Several flights never took off. Others kept getting delayed again and again. At the centre of the crisis stood a shortage of crew members.
Earlier, an airline spokesperson admitted that IndiGo’s network had been “significantly disrupted across the network for the past two days.” The spokesperson blamed multiple reasons. These included technical glitches, bad weather, heavy congestion, and new Flight Duty Time Limitations, or FDTL, that started in November.
More cancellations were also expected at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Major airports report heavy cancellations
The scale of disruption grew across key Indian cities.
At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, media reports said more than 30 outgoing IndiGo flights were cancelled on Thursday. In Bengaluru, a spokesperson at Kempegowda International Airport told Reuters that 73 IndiGo flights were cancelled. In Hyderabad, airport sources told PTI that up to 33 outgoing flights were likely to be called off, while around 35 incoming flights could also be cancelled.
These numbers showed that the crisis was not limited to one region. Instead, it spread across north, south, east, and west India.
As delays stretched on, anger among passengers rose.
Passengers share frustration
Many stranded travellers posted their experiences online.
“We have been at Hyderabad Airport from yesterday at 6:00 PM until today at 9:00 AM—over 12 hours—with no action taken by IndiGo regarding the Pune flight. This situation has caused significant inconvenience,” one user wrote.
Another frustrated traveller posted on X, “Frustrating experience with @IndiGoAir! My flight was delayed for 22 hours with no clear communication or compensation. Not what I expected from India's largest airline.”
A third passenger described repeated last-minute changes, writing, “Cancelling / rescheduling flights at the last moments by crazy hrs. It’s not just inconvenience at this stage it’s low key harassment! My flight from Bglr got cancelled n my Bro’s flight from Kolkata got delayed twice.”
These messages highlighted the emotional and financial cost for travellers, many of whom missed meetings, family events, and connecting flights.
New crew rules trigger deeper problems
IndiGo said “operational” issues were behind the widespread delays and cancellations. However, sources earlier told HT that the updated Flight Duty Time Limitations were playing a major role.
The airline has faced a growing pilot shortage since the new rules came into force. These rules aim to reduce pilot fatigue and improve safety. They increased the weekly rest period to 48 hours. They also extended the definition of night hours and reduced the number of night landings from six to just two.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued these rules as part of its effort to regulate crew schedules and protect pilot health. However, for IndiGo, this sudden change reduced available crew and disrupted carefully planned rosters. As pilots hit their duty limits faster, more flights had to be delayed or cancelled.
As a result, the airline has found it difficult to stabilise its network, even after three days.