Crew crunch hits IndiGo, over 70 flights cancelled

The crisis, which began building on Tuesday, intensified sharply by Wednesday morning. Long queues, mounting delays and last-minute cancellations were reported at airports around the country, as the carrier grappled with what insiders described as an “acute crew shortage” triggered by the implementation of the second phase of the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.

The sources said the situation deteriorated overnight, with the disruption “turning worse on Wednesday” as staffing gaps widened and cancellations piled up. The Gurugram-based airline, which operates close to 2,100 flights a day, many of them late-evening and night operations, was unable to maintain roster stability under the tightened duty-hour restrictions.

IndiGo admitted that its network had been significantly hit over the past 48 hours. In a statement, the airline said a series of “unavoidable challenges” had collided at once, minor technology glitches, winter-related schedule shifts, bad weather, rising airport congestion and the updated crew-rostering norms. These factors, the spokesperson said, created a cascading impact that “was not feasible to anticipate”.

The airline said it was now taking “calibrated schedule adjustments” for the next two days in a bid to restore control and bring punctuality back on track. The spokesperson said teams were “working round the clock” to assist passengers with rebooking or refunds and to stabilise operations at the earliest.

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry’s on-time performance data for Tuesday, IndiGo logged a steep plunge to just 35 per cent across six major domestic airports, far behind rivals Air India (67.2 per cent), Air India Express (79.5 per cent), SpiceJet (82.5 per cent) and Akasa Air (73.2 per cent).

The disruption has revived industry concerns over the latest FDTL norms, which mandate longer weekly rest periods, extend night-flying hours and cap night landings at two instead of six. Airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, had initially opposed these changes, citing the need for additional crew and warning that punctuality could suffer.

Though the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) implemented the rules in phases after a Delhi High Court directive, the second phase, which restricts night landings, came into force on November 1. The norms were originally scheduled for March 2024 but were delayed following pushback from carriers seeking gradual adoption.

As per the DGCA, the airline reported that 1,232 flights were cancelled in Novemer, with the bulk attributed to crew and FDTL compliance issues, while the rest stemmed from ATC system failures, airport and airspace restrictions and other technical or logistical constraints. According to the carrier, a large proportion of these factors were outside its direct control.

Its on-time performance also slid sharply, dropping to 67.70 per cent in November from 84.1 per cent in October. ATC-related congestion accounted for the biggest share of delays, followed by crew availability challenges, airport facility issues, and a mix of miscellaneous disruptions.

While expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to passengers, the airline urged travellers to check flight status through official channels before leaving for airports.

The DGCA said it was examining the situation and was working with the airline to identify measures to reduce cancellations and delays.