IndiGo cancels over 400 flights at various airports on Friday

IndiGo cancelled more than 400 flights and a large number of flights were delayed at various airports on Friday sources told news agency PTIHundreds of passengers faced hardships at the airports as flights were delayed for long periodsThe sources told PTI that over 220 flights including departures and arrivals were cancelled at the Delhi airport while more than 100 were cancelled at the Bangalore airportAt the Hyderabad airport over 90 flights were cancelled the sources told PTIThere were also cancellations at other airports and many flights were delayedIndiGo has been grappling with operational disruptions due to cabin crew woes and other factorsThe civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA are closely monitoring the situation regarding IndiGo flight disruptions that have been ongoing for the past few daysOn Thursday IndiGo told the aviation regulator the DGCA that flight operations are expected to be fully stabilised by February 10 2026Meanwhile Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and senior officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation MoCA held an emergency review meeting with IndiGorsquos top management to assess the ongoing situation The Ministry said it is closely monitoring disruptions and has activated heightened oversight The Minister also instructed the Airports Authority of India AAI to direct airport directors to provide full support to affected travellers Additionally the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA has been asked to monitor airfares amid growing concerns of fare hikes due to reduced capacityThe DGCA on Thursday also held a detailed meeting with IndiGorsquos leadership seeking clarification on the sharp spike in cancellations IndiGo attributed the situation to operational challenges linked to the implementation of Phase II of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations FDTL norms crew scheduling hurdles and seasonal winter conditionsThe revised FDTL Civil Aviation Requirements CAR enforced on July 1 and November 1 following court directives aim to enhance safety and reduce pilot fatigue During the meeting IndiGo acknowledged underestimating crew requirements under the new system resulting in planning gaps and staff shortagesThe airline stated that disruptions are likely to continue for the next two to three days as stabilisation efforts continue From December 8 IndiGo will temporarily reduce flight frequency to minimise inconvenience The carrier has also requested temporary relaxation of certain FDTL regulations for A320 aircraft until February 10 2026 and assured DGCA that normal operations will be fully restored by thenWith inputs from PTI