India’s largest airline, IndiGo, plans to operate 1,800 flights on Monday (December 8), which would account for around 78 per cent of its planned 2,300 daily departures under the Winter Schedule for 2025, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement today.
Around 500 IndiGo flights were grounded at several airports, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, MoCA said in its statement, adding that a total of 5,86,705 PNR (Passenger Name Record) cancellations have been recorded so far due to the chaos, MoCA said.
What did the ministry say?
The ministry added that 5,86,705 PNRs for the period December 1-7 were cancelled and refunded, amounting to a total of Rs 569.65 crore. A total of 9,55,591 PNRs for the period November 21 to December 7 were also cancelled and refunded, amounting to Rs 827 crore.
As the IndiGo disruption enters its sixth day, the total number of flight cancellations crossed 3,000 across all domestic flights in India.
But there seems to be light shining from behind the dark cloud of flight disruptions as the airline has managed to deliver 4,500 bags to the passengers out of the total 9,000, and will deliver the remaining in next 36 hours, the ministry said in a statement.
IndiGo announced on Sunday that it aims to have its network fully restored by December 10. The company noted that flight operations have seen significant improvements, which should help alleviate passenger inconveniences caused by the major disruptions experienced in recent days.
IndiGo’s response
In a statement, an IndiGo representative noted that the number of flight cancellations has decreased, the on-time flight percentage has risen, and customer support processes are being enhanced to address outstanding issues. The airline has also updated its timeline for resuming normal operations, now expressing confidence that everything will be back to normal by December 10, a change from their previous estimate of December 15.
According to the statement, IndiGo is making substantial and ongoing enhancements to its network. The company confirmed that over 1,650 flights are operating today, an increase from around 1,500 flights the previous day, Saturday. Additionally, it reported that its on-time performance (OTP) has improved to 75 per cent, a significant rise from about 30 per cent just a day prior.
Earlier today, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu told the Rajya Sabha that the IndiGo flight disruptions were not caused by the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, but by the airline’s own internal rostering and operational lapses.
The minister stressed that the revised FDTL rules had been functioning smoothly for a full month before the December 3 crisis and that IndiGo alone was responsible for managing crew scheduling and day-to-day operations.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, has faced widespread operational strain since December 1, prompting hundreds of cancellations and delays across major hubs.