Chaos after India's biggest airline IndiGo cancels 1,200 flights

Chaos gripped Indian airports on Thursday after the country's biggest airline IndiGo cancelled over 1,200 flights, stranding thousands of passengers.

The company blamed the disruption on "unforeseen operational challenges" including technical glitches, adverse weather conditions and new rules for workers.

At least 175 IndiGo flights were cancelled as of early on Thursday, leaving passengers at major airports in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru angry and upset. On Wednesday, at least 150 flights were cancelled.

Shares of IndiGo, which commands 60% of the market and has built its reputation on punctuality, fell 3.4% on Thursday and are now down 6% for the week.

A man looks at a fight schedule screen displaying several delayed flights by IndiGo airlines at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Reuters

The Federation of Indian Pilots said IndiGo was not able to make timely roster adjustments and plan its schedule properly due to new rules aimed at improving safety.

The rules, announced last year, went into effect on Nov.1. It was not immediately clear why IndiGo was suffering such a huge impact this week.

IndiGo has acknowledged that stricter flight duty time limits have been a factor in the cancellations. It did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Other airlines, including Air India, Spicejet and Akasa Air, have not had to cancel flights.

An IndiGo employee moves a trolley to collect luggage of passengers whose IndiGo flight was cancelled, at an airport in Pune. Reuters

India's aviation watchdog ordered an investigation and demanded that IndiGo respond with plans to ease the interruptions, which have persisted since Monday.

Passengers vented their anger online, with one airport user on X describing "complete mayhem" with delays of up to eight hours and "no staff" on hand to help.

Some 1,232 IndiGo flights had been cancelled as of Wednesday, according to the company. The number of delays was not clear.
IndiGo said it was offering customers alternative travel arrangements and refunds while restoring its services.

The company acknowledged its "significantly disrupted" operations were partly due to new crew rostering rules having a "negative compounding impact."

Passengers crowd outside a boarding gate as they wait to board a delayed IndiGo flight at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Reuters

The rules came into effect last month and aim to give pilots and crew more rest periods to enhance passenger safety.

The disruption is another setback to the no-frills carrier, which has built its reputation on punctuality.

Last week, 200 of its planes were affected when Airbus issued an alert for an urgent upgrade for 6,000 aircraft worldwide.
India is one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets, hitting 500,000 daily flyers last month for the first time.

Agencies