Mumbai: IndiGo has cancelled more than 70 flights on Wednesday, including those from Bengaluru and Mumbai airports, mainly due to crew shortages, sources said.
The airline also experienced widespread delays at various airports as it struggled to deploy sufficient crew for its scheduled operations.
In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said, “We have had several unavoidable flight delays and some cancellations in the past few days due to various reasons including technology issues, airport congestion, and operational requirements.”
A source added, “IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortages since the implementation of the second phase of Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms, leading to cancellations and significant delays across airports. The situation worsened on Wednesday after Tuesday’s disruptions, affecting scores of flights nationwide.”
The airline’s on-time performance (OTP) from six key domestic airports plummeted to 35 per cent on Tuesday, while Air India recorded 67.2 per cent, Air India Express 79.5 per cent, SpiceJet 82.5 per cent, and Akasa Air 73.2 per cent, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The latest FDTL norms, which include increased weekly rest periods to 48 hours, restrictions on night flights, and limiting night landings to two from six, were initially opposed by domestic carriers, including IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India. However, the DGCA rolled out the norms following Delhi High Court directives, after a delay of over a year, in a phased manner with certain variations for airlines like IndiGo and Air India.
While the first phase of FDTL norms came into force in July, the second phase, which restricted night landings to two from six, was implemented on November 1. The norms were originally scheduled for March 2024, but airlines sought a step-by-step implementation citing additional crew requirements.
The Gurugram-based airline currently operates around 2,100 domestic and international flights, many of which are during night hours. As of December 2, IndiGo had a fleet of 416 aircraft, with 366 in operations and 50 on the ground, up from 47 last month, according to aircraft fleet tracking website Planespotter.com.
With PTI inputs