For a third consecutive day, airline IndiGo plunged India's air travel into chaos, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country. Travelers were stuck for hours at check-in counters and boarding gates with no information about their flights, as the carrier's operations suffered a massive breakdown.
Widespread Cancellations and Endless Delays
The situation was particularly severe at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. On Thursday alone, IndiGo cancelled a staggering 118 flights, comprising 74 departures and 44 arrivals. Most of its departing flights that did operate were delayed by two to three hours or more.
The crisis hit hardest those who had booked expensive last-minute tickets for urgent travel. One such passenger, Gopan Nair, shared his ordeal. His family booked two one-way tickets from Mumbai to Trivandrum for Rs 40,000 after his mother-in-law passed away in the morning. Their flight, 6E 490, was scheduled for a 4:15 pm departure. "But it's 8 pm now, and we're still at the boarding gate with no IndiGo staffer around, its customer care number not reachable, and no information on our flight status," Nair said. The family had postponed the funeral to attend, but found themselves helplessly stuck.
Market Domination Amplifies the Crisis
With IndiGo commanding a 65% share of the domestic market, the large-scale disruption had an immediate and visible impact on airfares across the network. As desperate travelers scrambled for alternatives, last-minute ticket prices skyrocketed. The cheapest same-day, one-way fare from Mumbai to Delhi was quoted at an exorbitant Rs 23,000. By the afternoon, no tickets were available on direct flights from Mumbai to popular destinations like Goa, Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Trivandrum.
The boarding gate area described by Nair was packed with passengers bound for Guwahati, Kolkata, Jaipur, Delhi, and Kochi, all sharing a similar fate of uncertainty and frustration.
Root Cause: Pilot Rostering and Regulatory Changes
Aviation experts point to systemic failures behind the meltdown. Captain Amit Singh, an air safety expert, criticized the airline's planning. "Winter schedules are planned months ahead. IndiGo ought to have resolved its crew-shortage issues before seeking approval, rather than putting the travelling public through this. It is wilful negligence," he stated.
The airline's troubles are linked to the implementation of the revised Flight Duty and Time Limitation (FDTL) norms, which dictate maximum duty and minimum rest periods for pilots. The second phase of these revised norms came into effect on November 1, leading to significant pilot rostering challenges for IndiGo. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had initially set a July 1, 2024 deadline for the new rules, but granted airlines over a year to recruit more pilots and adjust their systems after carriers sought more time.
IndiGo's current winter schedule, which runs from October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026, appears to have been approved without adequate crew resources in place. Throughout the crisis, the airline failed to issue any official media statement or provide timely updates on its social media platforms, exacerbating passenger anxiety.
