IndiGo Chaos: Over 300 Flights Cancelled as New Pilot Duty Rules Cripple India’s Largest Airline

Massive disruption continued at airports across India on Thursday as IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier, cancelled over 300 flights, struggling to comply with stringent new crew rostering regulations. This followed the cancellation of at least 150 flights on Wednesday, prompting the airline to announce “calibrated adjustments” to its schedule for the next 48 hours.

The operational breakdown saw IndiGo’s crucial On-Time Performance (OTP) drop dramatically to a mere 19.7% on Wednesday, down from 35% the previous day, according to data from the civil aviation ministry.

The crisis is primarily attributed to the implementation of updated Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) that came into force in November. These new DGCA norms mandate increased weekly rest periods (up to 48 hours) and significantly limit the number of night landings for pilots, drastically increasing the required crew strength across the airline’s network.

Cancelled flights on Thursday included 85 from Mumbai, 73 from Bengaluru, 68 from Hyderabad, and 33 from Delhi. On Wednesday, major disruptions were reported at Delhi (67 flights cancelled), Bengaluru (42), Hyderabad (40), and Mumbai (33).

Adding to the chaos, the airline’s baggage systems at Delhi’s Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 experienced problems on Wednesday, compounding the delays caused by crew shortages, technology glitches, and adverse weather.

IndiGo’s struggles were evident in DGCA data showing it cancelled 1,232 flights in November, with 755 of them directly linked to FDTL compliance issues, causing its monthly OTP to plunge to 67.70% from 84.1% in October. The Airline Pilots Association of India has criticized the situation as a “failure of proactive resource planning” by the carrier.

The DGCA has since summoned IndiGo to its headquarters to present the facts and outline a plan to mitigate the ongoing delays and cancellations.