NEW DELHI: At least 175 IndiGo flights were cancelled early Thursday, worsening chaos at major Indian airports, after new government regulations on crew safety disrupted roster planning at the country’s largest airline.
The disruptions have left thousands of travellers stranded for the past three days.
IndiGo, which controls over 60 percent of the domestic market, had already cancelled at least 150 flights across major cities on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reported.
On Thursday, Bengaluru airport saw 73 cancellations, while Delhi reported around 30, and Hyderabad 68, according to airport sources.
The airline had previously stated that the cancellations were due to multiple factors, including stricter flight duty-time limits introduced by India’s aviation regulator to address pilot fatigue.
The Federation of Indian Pilots said IndiGo struggled to adjust rosters and properly plan schedules ahead of the November 1 implementation, which increased mandatory rest periods and imposed certain restrictions on night flying.
“A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges, including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system, and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations), had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated,” IndiGo said.
It said it has introduced “calibrated adjustments” to address the delays, suggesting the issue might last another 48 hours.
The crisis marks a significant setback for the two-decade-old airline, which built its reputation on punctuality, even coining the tagline “IndiGo Standard Time” for closing plane gates well before departure.
In a statement on Wednesday, the airline said it was making “calibrated adjustments” to its flight schedules over the next two days.
