India’s largest airline continued to grapple with a deepening operational crisis on Monday, cancelling more than 250 flights from Delhi and Bengaluru as disruptions stretched into a seventh straight day, according to media report.
At Delhi airport alone, 134 flights were scrapped — 75 departures and 59 arrivals — while Bengaluru saw 117 cancellations, severely affecting passenger movement at two of the country’s busiest hubs. Lakhs of travellers across India have faced delays, diversions and last-minute cancellations since December 2.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which has been monitoring the situation closely, has extended the deadline for IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO-Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras to respond to its show-cause notice. The regulator had earlier flagged “significant lapses in planning, oversight, and resource management” after the airline failed to stabilise operations despite days of large-scale disruptions. The two executives must now submit their responses by 6 pm Monday.
The turbulence began after new Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms for pilots kicked in, tightening weekly rest requirements to 48 hours, extending night-time duty windows, and sharply reducing permitted night landings. The rules — rolled out in two phases from July 1 and November 1 following Delhi High Court directions — have increased the crew strength required for smooth operations. Airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, had initially opposed the norms, citing the need for more pilots.
IndiGo, partly owned by Rahul Bhatia, struggled in the initial days to acknowledge the scale of the crisis. Only on Friday, when the airline cancelled an unprecedented 1,600 flights — the highest single-day cancellation count in Indian aviation history — did CEO Elbers issue a public apology, without disclosing the exact extent of cancellations at the time.
While the DGCA has granted temporary relaxations to the second-phase FDTL requirements until February 10, the airline continues to face mounting pressure from the government and passengers as it works to rebuild schedules, reassign crew, and restore reliability.
With the peak holiday travel season underway, the prolonged disruption has prompted growing frustration among travellers and renewed scrutiny of the airline’s manpower planning and crisis management. |
