India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is scrambling to restore normal operations after days of widespread cancellations and delays triggered by crew shortages linked to new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms. The disruption pushed last-minute airfares to record levels and prompted government intervention. Here are the 10 key developments:
1. Over 1,000 flights cancelled nationwide
India's ar transport sector is total turmoil as IndiGo cancelled over 1000 flights.
2. Delhi Airport says operations are recovering
Delhi Airport stated that flight operations are “getting back to normalcy” and advised passengers to check their flight status before leaving home. It said IndiGo’s services were “steadily resuming” after the disruption.
3. Airfares surge up to six times normal levels
Last-minute fares shot up to unprecedented highs. A one-way one-stop SpiceJet economy ticket from Kolkata to Mumbai for December 6 touched ₹90,000, while an Air India Mumbai–Bhubaneswar fare rose to ₹84,485. Industry officials said fares surged “even six times” average levels, prompting concerns about profiteering.
4. IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers issues apology
Elbers called December 5 the “most severely impacted day” and apologised to passengers for the inconvenience. He expects operations to return to normal between December 10 and 15, with fewer than 1,000 cancellations expected on Saturday.
5. Aviation minister blames IndiGo’s ‘mismanagement’
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the disruption stemmed from IndiGo’s poor handling of crew planning under the new FDTL norms. He highlighted that other airlines had adapted without similar issues.
6. Experts say IndiGo failed to recruit adequate crew
Aviation experts pointed out that airlines were asked over a year ago to hire more pilots and prepare for the new regulations. While Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa and others complied, IndiGo expanded its operations without scaling up crew strength, triggering chaos once the deadline kicked in.
7. DGCA grants IndiGo temporary exemptions
To stabilise services, IndiGo received a one-time exemption from strict night-duty rules until February 10. The DGCA also withdrew a rule preventing airlines from counting pilot leave as part of weekly rest — providing temporary flexibility.
8. Govt forms high-level inquiry committee
Naidu said a committee has been set up to determine what went wrong. “Whoever is responsible needs to pay for it,” he said, stressing that such lapses cannot be allowed to recur.
9. Railways deploys extra coaches to handle spillover demand
Indian Railways added 116 additional coaches across 37 premium trains on 114 enhanced trips to manage the surge in passenger demand resulting from the flight crisis. Southern, Western and Eastern Railway zones carried out major augmentations.
10. Political criticism over soaring airfares
SP MP Dimple Yadav slammed the sharp rise in fares, calling airline practices “arbitrary” and urging government intervention. She said the sector cannot be allowed to operate unchecked during such crises.
The government expects IndiGo to restore full normalcy by mid-December, marking the end of one of the aviation sector’s most turbulent weeks in recent years.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)
