Indigo flight cancellations: Passengers at multiple airports across India continued to face major inconvenience on Thursday as IndiGo’s operations remained severely disrupted, with numerous flights delayed or cancelled. The airline, which operates around 2,200 flights daily, is grappling with multiple operational issues, leaving travelers frustrated.
Passengers Struggle Amid Uncertainty
At Jammu airport, passengers expressed anger and helplessness as flights to Delhi were repeatedly postponed. One passenger said, “My flight from Jammu to Delhi has been delayed by around 4 hours. I don’t know if the flight will go today.” Another added, “The flight to Delhi, which was initially scheduled for 1030 hours, has been rescheduled to 1530 hours.”
Similarly, travelers in Ahmedabad reported confusion over rescheduled flights. Mukesh Kumar Jaiswal said, “They said that your flight is delayed by 4 hours. He told me my flight would be here at 8 PM, but that’s not final… They just told me to wait.” At Mumbai airport, disruptions were severe, with passengers alleging poor management. Sanjay said, “They are saying that IndiGo has been reporting glitches for the past 2 days. The software update in Airbus is causing these glitches, so their schedule has changed… IndiGo isn’t taking any care of its customers… I missed my connecting flight due to the delay. I tried calling the Aviation Ministry, but no one answered.”
Operational Challenges Behind the Delays
The Federation of Indian Pilots has outlined several reasons behind the ongoing chaos. Captain CS Randhawa, speaking to ANI at Mumbai airport, said, “Indigo operates approximately 2,200 flights all over India.” He attributed the disruptions primarily to staff shortages. “Most of these flight disruptions, cancellations, and delays have been attributable to, firstly, the crew shortage,” he explained.
Randhawa also cited problems with aircraft induction and pilot scheduling. “Secondly, they have been inducting aircraft. It must be appreciated that when you induct an aircraft, you must have an adequate number of crews per aircraft,” he said. He further added, “Thirdly, Indigo pilots were flying about 55 to 57 hours. After 1st November, they offered pilots the option to buy back their leave… The crew rostering of the pilots was totally inappropriate. They did not plan the crews correctly.”
In addition to operational challenges, personal crises have compounded passenger distress. Jumman Ali Khan shared his experience, saying, “My brother passed away yesterday… The ticket prices are Rs 36,000, Rs 38,000, and Rs 40,000. But we are poor. His parents are sitting here… We are not even getting a flight… The parents are not able to go.”
Authorities and the airline have not yet announced a timeline for normalization of services, and further updates are awaited.
