Flight operations at Birsa Munda Airport (Ranchi) were severely affected due to technical reasons on Thursday. IndiGo Airlines cancelled multiple incoming flights from Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

The lack of timely communication caused significant inconvenience. Many passengers arrived at the airport only to be informed of the cancellations upon arrival. Several passengers were left waiting for hours without clear updates from the airline.

Timeline Of Flight Delays

In addition to cancellations, numerous flights arrived and departed with significant delays on both Thursday and Friday.

1. Thursday: Major Delays

  • Ranchi-Patna (6E 925): Delayed by 6 hours 22 minutes.
  • Ranchi-Delhi (IX 1056): Delayed by 1 hour 25 minutes.
  • Ranchi-Bhubaneswar (6E 7362): Delayed by 1 hour 17 minutes.
  • Ranchi-Kolkata (6E 7251): Delayed by 56 minutes.
  • Ranchi-Ahmedabad (6E 6184): Delayed by 45 minutes.
  • Ranchi-Delhi (6E 576 & IX 1049): Both delayed by 44 minutes.

2. Friday: Continued Disruption

The trend of delays persisted into the second day.

Departures from Ranchi:

  • Ranchi-Kolkata (6E 7014): 40-minute delay.
  • Ranchi-Hyderabad (6E 398): 39-minute delay.
  • Ranchi-Delhi (IX 1047): 35-minute delay.
  • Ranchi-Kolkata (6E 7562): 29-minute delay.
  • Ranchi-Bengaluru (IX 2176): 27-minute delay.
  • Ranchi-Bengaluru (IX 1248): 24-minute delay.
  • Ranchi-Mumbai (IX 1238): 18-minute delay.

Arrivals into Ranchi:

  • Patna-Ranchi (6E 6902): Delayed by 5 hours 46 minutes.
  • Kolkata-Ranchi (6E 7674): Delayed by 2 hours 59 minutes.
  • Bhubaneswar-Ranchi (6E 7361): Delayed by 59 minutes.
  • Delhi-Ranchi (6E 7361): Delayed by 59 minutes.
  • Delhi-Ranchi (IX 1054): Delayed by 53 minutes.
  • Kolkata-Ranchi (6E 7317): Delayed by 48 minutes.
  • Delhi-Ranchi (6E 6287 And IX 1050): Both delayed by 16 minutes.

Root Causes Of Disruption

IndiGo has cited three primary reasons for the large-scale cancellations and delays currently affecting airports across the country:

Severe Crew Shortage (FDTL Rules): The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has implemented changes to the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules. These changes have reduced working hours for pilots and cabin crew while increasing mandatory rest periods. Consequently, many pilots are legally unavailable for duty, making it difficult to create rosters.

Technical Snags: Some aircraft have experienced minor technical faults, requiring them to be grounded for repairs.

Congestion and Weather: Heavy congestion at major airports during peak winter operations, combined with adverse weather conditions in certain locations, has further disrupted schedules.

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