• Source:JND
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IndiGo Cancellations: IndiGo on Wednesday informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it had been compelled to cancel a total of 1,232 flights. Of these, 755 cancellations were attributed to crew shortages caused by flight duty time limitations (FDTL) regulations.

Additionally, 258 flights were impacted by airspace restrictions, while 92 were affected by ATC system failures. The DGCA issued a statement confirming that it is investigating the situation and working with the airline to implement measures aimed at reducing cancellations and delays in order to alleviate passenger disruption.

IndiGo has also been instructed to report to the DGCA Headquarters, where it will present the factors leading to the current situation, alongside plans to address the ongoing delays and cancellations, according to the statement.

"A large share of cancellations arose from crew/FDTL compliance and airport/airspace/ATC-related factors, many of which lie beyond the operator's direct control," the airline said.

IndiGo further reported that its overall on-time performance (OTP) had fallen to 67.7 per cent in November, compared to 84.1 per cent in October.

The DGCA noted that it had provided additional guidance to IndiGo on the effective implementation of the revised FDTL norms.

In response, IndiGo is taking steps to improve its crew planning and rostering processes while ensuring compliance with FDTL regulations. The airline is also enhancing coordination with ATC and airports to better manage capacity constraints and improve turnaround and disruption management procedures.

Passengers are advised to check flight status via official channels before their scheduled departure, the DGCA statement concluded.

IndiGo was forced to cancel a significant number of flights on Wednesday at major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, primarily due to crew shortages, which severely disrupted flight schedules. While there were some cancellations on Tuesday, the situation worsened considerably on Wednesday.

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IndiGo said in a statement, "We acknowledge that IndiGo's operations have been significantly disrupted across the network for the past two days, and we sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused."

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, the airline stated.

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IndiGo said that to contain the disruption and restore stability, the airline has initiated calibrated adjustments to its schedules. "These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow us to normalise our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network. The airline's teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilise as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, the affected customers are being offered alternative travel arrangements to reach their destinations or refunds, as applicable," the airline said in a statement.

"We request customers to check the latest flight status at https://www.goindigo.in/check-flight-status.html before heading to the airport," the statement said.

( With Inputs from Agencies )

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