IndiGo moved into a sixth day of its worst operational breakdown on Sunday, with the country’s largest airline still battling to stabilise its network.
Of the carrier’s 2,300 daily domestic and international flights, 650 were cancelled.
The airline said it expects its network to stabilise by December 10, revising its earlier estimate of December 10–15.
“Following the recent operational disruptions, IndiGo confirms that we are establishing further significant and sustained improvements across our network. On Sunday, we are on track to operate over 1,650 flights, up from around 1,500 flights on Friday,” an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement.
Delhi & Mumbai: More than 220 flights were cancelled on Sunday, 112 in Mumbai and 109 in Delhi.
Hyderabad: 61 outbound and 56 inbound IndiGo flights were cancelled.
Kolkata: 76 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Sunday, 53 departures and 23 arrivals. The airport posted operational details on X. Several passengers said they faced “harassment” after multiple reschedules.
Agartala: Nine of IndiGo’s 11 daily flights were cancelled. Airfares on the Agartala–Kolkata route jumped from Rs 3,200 last week to Rs 11,000–Rs 13,000.
“Due to the ongoing problem, IndiGo has cancelled nine scheduled flights (arrival and departure) from MBB Airport on Sunday. But it will operate two flights as scheduled," said MBB airport director K.M. Nehra.
Passengers continued crowding airline counters, demanding information and refunds.
“We planned to fly on Sunday to Mumbai, and our work was urgent. But after three reschedules, the flight was cancelled, and the next available ticket was three times the price of our old ticket,” a passenger in Kolkata said.
The disruptions have come at a time when it is the peak winter tourism season for Rajasthan.
Sanjay Kaushik, a Jaipur-based tour operator, said the impact was already visible.
“The loss is not limited to those whose flights were cancelled. A much bigger setback is that tourists who had booked their trips for Christmas and New Year are now cancelling,” he said.
“People are confused and worried that if this crisis continues, their bookings will go to waste, so new bookings have stopped, while earlier ones are getting cancelled. Facing this situation in the peak season means the entire industry will suffer a major blow,” he added.
Hotel owners and travel agencies across Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer said inquiries have slowed sharply. Many travellers are waiting to see if the situation improves by mid-week before confirming plans.
The airline added that cancellations were now being made earlier, allowing them to inform passengers sooner. Refunds and baggage trace processes are ongoing, and customers have been urged to check flight status before heading to the airport.
IndiGo says it has rebooted its systems, rosters and schedules to improve reliability. The DGCA’s four-member committee will submit its findings within 15 days, which could lead to further regulatory action.
InterGlobe Aviation’s Board of Directors had met immediately after the crisis began and set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG) comprising chairman Vikram Singh Mehta; board directors Gregg Saretsky, Mike Whitaker and Amitabh Kant; and CEO Pieter Elbers.
The group has been meeting regularly to track developments.
“The Board of Directors of Interglobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) met on the first day that the problem of cancellations and delayed flights arose. The members received a detailed briefing from the management on the nature and extent of the crisis,” the airline said.
DGCA has issued notices to CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidro Porqueras, citing “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management.”
The regulator said the airline had failed to prepare adequately for changes required under the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations scheme. Both executives have been asked to respond within 24 hours.
Civil aviation minister K. Rammohan Naidu held a meeting with Elbers and senior ministry officials on Saturday. The immediate priority, officials said, is to restore full operations and ensure prompt refunds.
Friday was the airline’s worst day, with around 1,600 cancellations. But signs of recovery appeared on Saturday when on-time performance at six metro airports touched 20.7 per cent, an improvement from the previous day, according to the civil aviation ministry’s website.
The disruptions followed a rostering crisis triggered by the implementation of the second phase of the court-mandated flight duty and rest norms for crew members.
The new rules apply to all domestic carriers but have been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo by the DGCA after the chaos unfolded.