IndiGo on Wednesday cancelled over 200 flights across the country, including 67 to and from Delhi airport and 10 to and from Calcutta airport, as the airline battled crew shortages and technology glitches, sources said.
Flight delays were also reported from airports as the carrier struggled to arrange for crew, PTI reported.
“We acknowledge that IndiGo’s operations have been significantly disrupted across the network for the past two days, and we sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” an IndiGo spokesperson said.
“A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges, including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations) had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated,” the spokesperson added.
On Tuesday, IndiGo’s on-time performance from six key domestic airports plummeted to 35 per cent while Air India clocked 67.2 per cent, Air India Express 79.5 per cent, SpiceJet 82.50 per cent and Akasa Air 73.20 per cent, according to the civil aviation ministry website.
Chaos prevailed at various airports, including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
In Hyderabad, 13 outgoing
and 18 incoming flights were cancelled.
IndiGo, with a fleet of over 400 aircraft, operates around 2,300 daily flights that connect 90 domestic and 45 international destinations. The airline said its teams were working to ensure that operations return to normal soon.
To contain the disruption and restore stability, IndiGo said it had initiated calibrated adjustments to the schedules but did not share any specific numbers.
These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow the airline to normalise operations and progressively recover punctuality across the network, it said.
“Furthermore, we are offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customers, as applicable,” IndiGo said.
IndiGo, which mostly operates Airbus jets, had also suffered disruptions on Saturday as around 200 A320 aircraft had to undergo a software update.
Many flyers took to social media to express their annoyance over the cancellation and delay of flights. Some called it a “worst experience ever”, while others targeted the airline for lack of accountability.
“IndiGo6E worst experience ever. Flight was delayed from 3pm to 8pm. They made my mom run from T1 Delhi to T3 Delhi. Even got her baggage lost which amounts to more than 25k. I will stop using Indigo for good. Untrained unprofessional airline,” an X user posted.
Another X user, who was supposed to board a flight from Bhubaneswar, posted: “IndiGo cancelled the flight late into the night after making passengers wait since evening, no clarity, no alternatives, no accountability.”
A flyer from Hyderabad to Mumbai complained that his flight was delayed for more than seven hours.