IndiGo Flight Chaos Deepens as Cancellations Surge Nationwide (300 words)

IndiGo, India’s largest airline in terms of market share, is facing one of its worst operational crises in recent years, with massive flight cancellations and delays creating widespread disruption at airports across the country. Over the past few days, more than a thousand flights have been cancelled, while hundreds more are running behind schedule. Passengers across major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai have been left stranded amid long queues, rising frustration, and limited communication from the airline. Social media has been flooded with images of overcrowded terminals, exhausted families sleeping on floors, and angry passengers demanding answers as schedules collapsed without clear updates.

The disruption is primarily linked to a combination of new DGCA Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations for pilots, night flight restrictions, and internal roster management failures. IndiGo acknowledged that the sudden enforcement of new duty norms exposed weaknesses in crew planning, particularly for high-frequency morning and late-night operations. With insufficient rest hours and staffing buffers, pilots became unavailable for duty, resulting in a cascading breakdown of schedules.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed IndiGo to provide hassle-free refunds and simplified rebooking for affected passengers. To support stranded travellers, Indian Railways has added extra coaches to long-distance trains while alternative travel channels attempt to absorb the surge in demand. The airline has announced that operations may gradually stabilise between December 10 and 15, though experts suggest disruptions could continue until full crew rotations are restored and network congestion reduces.

For now, travel authorities advise passengers to monitor flight status regularly, maintain backup travel plans, and reach airports only after receiving final confirmation. The crisis has raised serious questions about flight scheduling sustainability and regulatory preparedness as India’s aviation traffic continues to grow rapidly.