Air travel disruptions continued across India on Tuesday as IndiGo’s operational crisis worsened, causing widespread delays and cancellations.
At Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, at least 19 cancellations and 154 delays were recorded in the last 24 hours, officials said.
Dense fog, acute crew shortages, and the rollout of stricter regulatory norms have contributed to the escalating situation.
Flight operations at the Kolkata airport were severely affected throughout the day. Since IndiGo operates nearly 66 per cent of flights at the airport, the impact of the disruptions was extensive.
According to airport officials, the airline is struggling with an acute shortage of crew, which has been intensified by new Flight Duty Time Limitation norms mandating longer rest periods for pilots. Combined with adverse weather conditions, this has disrupted IndiGo’s network nationwide.
An internal operational report for Kolkata showed that between 12 noon and 8 am, 24 IndiGo flights were affected. These included four cancellations and 20 delays, most attributed to operational reasons. Two of the cancelled flights were arrivals from Bengaluru, while departures to Mumbai and Delhi were also cancelled. Ten incoming flights were delayed, including those from Delhi, Singapore, and Bangkok. Fourteen departures were delayed, affecting routes to Guwahati, Haldia, Bhubaneswar, and Imphal.
The disruptions have left thousands of passengers stranded and have led to widespread frustration at airports around the country.
IndiGo said its network had been significantly disrupted by unforeseen operational challenges. The airline cited technology glitches, winter schedule adjustments, adverse weather, congestion, and updated crew rostering rules. Its on-time performance dropped to 35 per cent on Tuesday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched an investigation into the situation and has summoned IndiGo’s senior management to explain the unprecedented disruptions and outline measures to stabilise operations.
The crew shortage, particularly among pilots, has been worsened by the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation rules that require a minimum weekly rest period of 48 hours and place restrictions on night landings. These changes have affected IndiGo’s high-frequency schedule and contributed to an increase in airfares on several routes.
DGCA data shows that 1,232 IndiGo flights were cancelled in November. Of these, 755 were directly linked to crew shortages and FDTL constraints. The airline’s overall on-time performance for November dropped to 67.7 per cent from 84.1 per cent in October.