New Delhi – Scenes of unprecedented chaos have engulfed airports nationwide as IndiGo flights cancelled over the past four days have exceeded 1,000, creating India’s most severe airline crisis in recent memory. Long queues, frayed tempers, and anxious passengers have become the norm at major hubs as the country’s largest carrier struggles to maintain operations. The crisis, now entering its fourth day, has exposed critical vulnerabilities in airline management and regulatory oversight.
The Scale of Disruption
The magnitude of IndiGo flights cancelled is staggering by any measure. More than 1,000 flights have been scrapped over four consecutive days, with major hubs bearing the brunt of the disruption. Delhi Airport alone witnessed 135 departures and 90 arrivals cancelled on Friday. Bengaluru Airport reported 52 arrivals and 50 departures scrapped, while Hyderabad logged 92 cancellations the same day.
Nationwide, more than 600 flights were cancelled in just 48 hours—a record-breaking collapse for the 20-year-old airline that has built its reputation on reliability and punctuality. On Wednesday, IndiGo’s on-time performance plummeted to 19.7%, a catastrophic fall from its industry-leading standards.
Root Cause: New Flight Duty Time Limitations
While IndiGo has attributed the chaos to “multitude of unforeseen operational challenges” including minor tech glitches, winter schedule changes, congestion, and weather, aviation insiders and regulators identify a different culprit. The real blow behind IndiGo flights cancelled came from the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL)—new crew rest and duty-hour rules designed to prevent pilot fatigue.
Initially introduced in January 2024 but not enforced until recently, these rules mandate several critical changes. Weekly rest requirements for crew increased from 36 hours to 48 hours. The night duty window expanded from 00:00 to 06:00. Most significantly, pilots are now limited to only two night landings per week, with a cap of 8 flying hours during night operations.
These restrictions forced a substantial portion of IndiGo’s pilots into compulsory rest periods just as the airline expanded its frequency for the winter schedule on October 26. The timing proved catastrophic.
The Perfect Storm
The crisis intensified when an Airbus A320 software advisory triggered weekend delays, pushing numerous flights past midnight. Under the new rest rules, these delays cascaded into cancellations as pilots hit their duty time limits. What began as minor disruptions snowballed into the massive wave of IndiGo flights cancelled that has paralyzed operations.
IndiGo’s Scale: Double-Edged Sword
IndiGo operates over 2,200 flights daily—nearly double that of Air India. This dominant market position, typically a competitive advantage, has become a vulnerability. Even a 10% operational disruption translates to 200-400 affected flights and thousands of stranded passengers. The airline’s high-frequency, low-cost model leaves minimal buffer for absorbing shocks, meaning IndiGo flights cancelled have a disproportionate impact on India’s aviation ecosystem.
The airline carried 118 million passengers last financial year, and its struggles have exposed a harsh reality: aggressive scaling and high-frequency operations are incompatible with tighter fatigue-control norms unless staffing grows proportionately.
DGCA Intervention and Rule Rollback
In a significant development addressing the IndiGo flights cancelled crisis, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order on Friday withdrawing a strict provision in the new FDTL rules. The regulator removed the clause stating “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest,” implemented with immediate effect.
This marks the first rollback of an FDTL clause since enforcement began, signaling government acknowledgment that the airline industry, especially IndiGo, was caught unprepared for the transition. The change offers breathing room for carriers to re-roster crew and restart flights, potentially easing the crisis.
Management Failures and Pilot Accusations
Pilot unions have placed blame squarely on IndiGo management for the IndiGo flights cancelled crisis. The Federation of Indian Pilots alleges the airline ignored warnings and failed to prepare adequate staffing rosters despite knowing new rules were imminent.
Specific criticisms include a prolonged hiring freeze, lean manpower strategy implemented for years to cut costs, non-poaching pacts and pay freezes that prevented talent acquisition, and schedule planning that failed to factor in new rest norms. Unions claim other airlines prepared better and remain largely unaffected by the same regulatory changes.
Some aviation experts suspect the disruptions could represent a pressure tactic to secure relaxations in FDTL rules—a claim pilots warn could compromise safety. Critics also targeted DGCA for approving winter flight schedules without verifying pilot availability under the new norms.
Passenger Nightmare
The human cost of IndiGo flights cancelled has been severe. Stranded passengers report being told “just two more hours” for 12 hours straight, without hotel accommodation or food provisions. Others spent entire nights at airports before learning their flights were cancelled. The operational breakdown has destroyed travel plans, disrupted family obligations, and caused significant financial losses.
Path to Recovery
IndiGo has sought time until February 10, 2026, to fully stabilize operations and has begun cutting flights to contain the damage. The airline has repeatedly apologized and urged passengers to check flight status before departing, carry essential supplies, and consider flexible or refundable bookings.
As IndiGo flights cancelled continue disrupting travel nationwide, pilots have urged DGCA to approve schedules only after airlines prove adequate crew strength, ensuring safety-driven policies aren’t undermined by commercial pressures. For now, India’s largest airline faces the toughest operational challenge in its history.
