IndiGo will cancel around 500 flights across India on Friday— including all departures from New Delhi — as a deepening operational crisis engulfs the country’s largest airline, which has admitted it failed to plan for new pilot duty-time regulations.
The disruptions, now in their fourth day, have paralysed IndiGo’s network and stranded thousands of passengers, marking the most severe operational breakdown in the carrier’s history.
IndiGo commands more than 60 percent of India’s domestic aviation market.
Airport officials said that the airline plans to cancel 104 flights in Mumbai, 102 in Bengaluru and 92 in Hyderabad. Delhi International Airport confirmed that all IndiGo departures for the day — estimated by one source at 235 flights — were grounded.
“Misjudgment and planning gaps”
IndiGo has blamed the chaos on “misjudgment and planning gaps” in implementing India’s new pilot fatigue rules, which came into force on November 1.
The updated regulations increase mandatory weekly rest for pilots from 36 to 48 hours, and reduce allowed night landings from six to two per week.
On Thursday, the airline told regulators it expects full operations to be restored by February 10, and has requested temporary relief from certain night-duty restrictions.
The operational breakdown has shaken investor confidence. IndiGo shares fell nearly 3 percent on Friday, extending the week’s losses to more than 10 percent.
Government data shows the airline’s on-time performance crashed to 8.5 percent on Thursday, down from 19.7 percent the day before. IndiGo cancelled more than 250 flights on Thursday and around 150 on Wednesday.
India is the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market — behind only US and China — with low-cost carriers dominating more than 78 percent of capacity. IndiGo, commanding the majority of all domestic seats, has been rapidly expanding internationally — until this week’s crisis brought its network to a standstill.
