IndiGo, India's largest airline, has announced the cancellation of 13 flights scheduled for Sunday, attributing the decision to forecasted adverse weather conditions at multiple airports across the country. This move adds to the ongoing travel woes for passengers, as the carrier has been grappling with operational challenges for over a week.
Widespread Disruptions and Affected Routes
The latest cancellations impact key routes connecting major Indian cities. Passengers traveling to and from Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Gaya, Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur, and Pune are affected. The airline stated that while most cancellations are due to anticipated bad weather, two services were axed for operational reasons. This follows a larger wave of cancellations on Saturday, where IndiGo scrapped 57 flights across its network.
The current situation echoes the massive disruptions witnessed earlier in December, when the airline cancelled thousands of flights. That episode was triggered by stricter enforcement of norms concerning pilots' duty periods and rest by the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). While those specific norms were the initial cause, the airline has since frequently cited "bad weather" as the reason for continued cancellations.
Fog Season and Regulatory Scrutiny
The timing coincides with India's official fog season. The DGCA has designated December 10 to February 10 as the fog window for this winter. During this period, airlines are mandated to adhere to special low-visibility operating procedures. As per guidelines, carriers must roster pilots specifically trained for such conditions and deploy aircraft equipped with Category III (CAT-III) instrumentation systems.
These systems are crucial for safe operations in dense fog. CAT-III A allows landings with a runway visual range (RVR) of 200 metres, while the more advanced CAT-III B permits operations when visibility drops below 50 metres. Concurrently, Air India has also issued a travel advisory warning of dense fog and reduced visibility across northern India, which may disrupt schedules on Sunday morning in cities like Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Varanasi.
The airline advised passengers on social media platform X: "In the event of unexpected delays, diversions, or cancellations, please rest assured that our ground colleagues remain available to assist you. If you are flying with us tomorrow, we recommend checking your flight status here before heading to the airport and allowing extra time for your journey."
Capacity Cut and Ongoing DGCA Investigation
IndiGo's operational capacity has already been curtailed by regulatory action. Following the widespread cancellations earlier this month, which included about 1,600 flights cancelled in a single day, the government imposed a 10% reduction on the airline's domestic capacity. This cut translates to 214 fewer flights per day.
Consequently, from an originally approved winter schedule of 2,144 domestic flights daily (15,014 per week), IndiGo is now limited to operating a maximum of 1,930 flights per day during the season. A four-member DGCA panel is actively probing the root causes of IndiGo's recent operational meltdown. The panel has already questioned the airline's top brass, including CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras.
The DGCA submitted a preliminary report on the circumstances leading to the disruptions to the Civil Aviation Ministry on Friday evening. This report is expected to analyze why the airline's domestic network was severely impacted while its international operations remained largely unscathed. The inquiry committee, headed by DGCA Joint Director General Sanjay K. Bramhane, has submitted a confidential report. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has informed Parliament that the government will take "exemplary" action against IndiGo once the probe concludes, with the panel's final report anticipated later this week.
