IndiGo Flight Chaos Deepens Amid Crew Crunch and New Safety Rules

New Delhi, December 04, 2025: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is currently grappling with a severe operational crisis, leading to widespread flight delays and a significant number of cancellations across the country. The disruption, which has intensified over the last two days, is causing major inconvenience and frustration for thousands of passengers during the peak travel season.

The Root of the Problem: Crew Shortage and New Rules

While the airline attributes the disruptions to a mix of factors—including minor technology issues, winter schedule changes, and airport congestion—the primary cause appears to be an acute shortage of cockpit and cabin crew. This shortage has been particularly aggravated by the full implementation of new, stricter Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms last month.

• New FDTL Norms: These government-mandated rules are designed to ensure pilot safety by providing more rest. They have significantly increased the weekly rest period for pilots (up to 48 hours from 36) and limited the number of night landings a pilot can perform in a given duty period (to two from six).
• Operational Strain: Because IndiGo operates a vast network with high aircraft utilisation, these new, more humane rostering rules have immediately reduced the available flight hours for its existing crew, exposing a pre-existing manpower gap. Sources suggest the airline failed to adequately hire and train additional crew members despite having ample notice.

Unprecedented Disruption and Plummeting Punctuality

The scale of the crisis is substantial.

• Mass Cancellations: Reports indicate that over 200 IndiGo flights were either cancelled or significantly delayed on Wednesday alone, following a similar pattern the day before. Major hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru have been hit hardest.
• On-Time Performance (OTP) Plunge: IndiGo’s historically strong On-Time Performance (OTP) at major airports plummeted to a worrying 35% on Tuesday, marking the lowest among all major domestic airlines. This means less than four out of every ten IndiGo flights departed on schedule.
• Passenger Ordeal: Passengers have reported lengthy delays, in some cases up to 7-10 hours, and last-minute cancellations, leading to chaos and angry confrontations at airport terminals. Many are struggling to find alternative flights, especially as fares on other carriers have spiked.

Airline’s Response and Regulator’s Action

The airline has officially acknowledged the “significant disruption” and sincerely apologised to its customers.

“A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges… and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (FDTL) had a negative compounding impact on our operations.”

To restore stability, IndiGo announced it has initiated “calibrated adjustments“ to its flight schedules, which will remain in place for the next 48 hours. This effectively means more planned cancellations and schedule changes to realign operations with available crew. Affected passengers are being offered alternative flights or full refunds.

Meanwhile, the aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has taken serious note of the situation. The DGCA is currently investigating the flight disruptions and has summoned the airline’s senior management to explain the cause and present a concrete plan for mitigating the ongoing delays and cancellations, especially as the peak travel season continues.

The coming days will be critical for IndiGo to demonstrate its ability to stabilise its massive operation and win back the trust of its customers. Travellers are strongly advised to check their flight status directly with the airline before heading to the airport.