Multiple IndiGo Flights Cancelled Across India; Chaos Continues With Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad Hit Hardest

New Delhi : Despite the relaxation of flight duty limit rules, chaos at many airports in India continued on Sunday morning, with at least 400 flights canceled across the country. While the majority of cancellations were concentrated in Hyderabad, Kolkata and Delhi airports, major air terminals, especially in city centres, were hit the hardest.

Amid the chaos at airports, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to the executive in-charge of IndiGo. The worst hit was Telangana’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad, where 115 flights were canceled today, affecting 54 arrivals and 61 departures.

According to the statement made by Delhi Airport, a total of 109 flights, at least 59 departures and 50 arrivals, were canceled today. At least 76 flights were affected in Kolkata, with 53 departures canceled and 23 arrivals cancelled. According to a statement from NSCBI Kolkata airport, 14 out of 43 departures were canceled between midnight and 10 am today. Of the 17 planned arrivals, 2 were canceled and 2 flights were delayed by more than 30 minutes.

Ahmedabad, another major urban hub for air travel, experienced relatively low cancellations of 20 flights; 12 arrivals and 8 departures were canceled. However, the airport also clarified that there were “no problems in the terminal and airside”, with attention being paid to facilitating passengers.

At least 33 percent of IndiGo flights were canceled out of a total of 226 scheduled arrivals and departures. Around 25 flights that were supposed to go across the country were canceled in Pune today.

Meanwhile, in the northeast region, 6 IndiGo flights were canceled at Agartala airport, with flights expected to Kolkata, Delhi, Guwahati, Bangalore and Imphal. In southern India, 5 arrivals and 6 departures were canceled at Trichy airport; There was only 1 arrival and 3 departure flights until Sunday afternoon.

Amid large-scale flight disruptions, the DGCA sent two show cause notices, one to the airline’s CEO Pieter Elbers and the other to the “Responsible Director” on Saturday. The regulator said such operational failures amounted to “significant deficiencies in planning, oversight and resource management” and amounted to prima facie non-compliance on the part of the airport with the provisions of Rule 42A of Aircraft Rules 1937 and the provisions of CAR Part 7, Series J, Party III Issue III (Rev 2) on Duty Period, Flight Duty Period, Flight Time Limitations and Prescribed Rest Periods. The announcement was read at the show titled “Air Transport Operations”.

The Regulator said that as the incumbent Responsible Manager, you are responsible for ensuring that overall operations strictly comply with the approved guidelines and in accordance with paragraph 8 of CAR Part 3, Series C, Part II and paragraph 1 of Schedule 3. The notification comes two days after IndiGo was exempted from one of the newly introduced rules for pilot safety, namely the rule that prevents airlines from substituting pilot rest time for leave.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol said they are monitoring the situation closely and have taken immediate action against the airline for non-compliance with Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL).

Mohol assured that the government is taking the matter very seriously and action will be taken after the investigation committee’s report is submitted. According to sources, the Parliament’s Transport, Tourism and Culture committee is likely to summon IndiGo representatives as well.

Meanwhile, IndiGo confirmed that they have made “further significant Operational improvements” and are “gradually restoring network stability”, a day after they started rebooting the system to manage canceled flights, thus improving the situation for passengers today.

According to the airline’s press release, “Following the recent operational disruptions, IndiGo confirms that we are making further significant and ongoing improvements to our network. The first step of this was taken yesterday, with the next steps taken today, with fewer cancellations and higher On-Time Performance. Additionally, cancellations were made at an earlier stage, allowing us to notify our customers in a more timely manner.”

As of December 7, IndiGo said they are on track to operate 1650 flights, including 150+ flights (up from 1500) from Saturday. This means on-time performance has jumped to over 75 percent, up from around 30 percent on Saturday.

Similarly, the refund and baggage process is also “full process for both direct bookings and indirect bookings.” The airline reiterated that it is confident in the timeline of 10 December for the stabilization of its operations network, after giving a period between 10-15 December.

An IndiGo spokesperson said: “We are grateful for the patience, trust and understanding shown by our customers and the tireless efforts of our employees and partners. We continue to work closely with all authorities and stakeholders to ensure a rapid return to full normality.”

The airline said that they formed a “Crisis Management Group” on the 1st day of the flight disruptions. The Board received a detailed briefing from Management on the nature and extent of the crisis before holding a closed session to Board members only.