IndiGo’s operational crisis entered its eighth consecutive day on Tuesday, triggering massive cancellations across major airports and prompting the Centre to launch on-ground inspections nationwide.

According to sources, the airline cancelled around 180 flights from Bengaluru and Hyderabad alone.

“IndiGo is not operating 58 flights to and from Hyderabad on Tuesday. Of these, 14 are arrivals and 44 departures,” the sources said. They added that cancellations at Bengaluru Airport stood at 121 flights, including 58 arrivals and 63 departures.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport reported 14 arrivals and 17 departures cancelled on Tuesday.

Ahmedabad Airport also confirmed disruptions, saying: “IndiGo flight cancellations today—16 (09 Arrivals | 07 Departures). Total flights operated till 0800 hrs are 23 (Arrivals: 07, Departures: 16). No issues in the terminal & Airside. Passengers facilitation is being taken care.”

The Gurugram-based airline, which commands more than 65% of India’s domestic market share, had cancelled over 560 flights from six metro airports on Monday.

Government to cut IndiGo’s winter schedule routes

The ongoing disruptions may cost IndiGo some of its routes as the Centre prepares to penalise the airline during the winter schedule.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said the government will “definitely” reduce the airline’s slots.

“We will definitely reduce the number of routes, which are in IndiGo's (winter) schedule. The order to this effect will be issued. This will be a kind of penalty on the airline as they will not be able to fly on those (curtailed) routes,” Naidu told DD News on Monday.

He added that these routes would be reassigned to other carriers and would be restored to IndiGo only once the airline demonstrates the ability to operate them reliably.

IndiGo currently operates more than 2,200 flights per day across 90 domestic and 40 international destinations.

Government orders pan-India airport inspections

Amid passenger distress and long queues at terminals, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed senior officers to conduct on-ground inspections at major airports.

Officers at the level of Deputy Secretary, Director, and Joint Secretary have been ordered to physically visit airports within 24 hours to assess the situation and identify service gaps.

The airports included in this special inspection drive are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Guwahati, Goa, and Thiruvananthapuram.

According to a statement from Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu’s office, a high-level review meeting was held to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the nationwide disruption. All senior ministry officials have been tasked with verifying airline operations and passenger services, with instructions to immediately rectify any shortcomings.

The Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have been monitoring the situation in real time since December 3.

Probe into operational lapses underway

On Monday, the Civil Aviation Minister informed Rajya Sabha that the “problems faced by IndiGo Airlines passengers were linked to the airline's internal crew rostering and operational planning and not the Aircraft Maintenance and Scheduling System (AMSS).”

He added that extensive consultations have been held with stakeholders regarding the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) guidelines, stressing that “there will be no compromise on safety.”

He also noted that stringent Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) are in place to safeguard passengers affected by flight delays and cancellations.

On December 6, DGCA issued show-cause notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidro Porqueras over the continuing disruptions.