IndiGo Crisis: Over 200 Flights Cancelled Due to New Crew Regulations and Operational Challenges

New Delhi:

IndiGo, India's largest airline, is facing one of its most significant operational disruptions in recent years. Over 200 flights were cancelled and hundreds more delayed across major airports on Tuesday and Wednesday. This crisis left thousands of passengers stranded, created extensive queues at terminals, and raised questions about the sudden breakdown in scheduling.

The disruption stems from multiple factors including crew shortages, newly implemented duty-time regulations, technical issues at key airports, and congestion during peak winter operations.

Reason(s) Behind The Chaos

1. Acute Crew Shortage

IndiGo has been experiencing a significant shortage of pilots and cabin crew following the implementation of stricter duty-time regulations that took effect on November 1. These updated rules substantially reduced the permissible flying hours for pilots and increased mandatory rest requirements.

Many IndiGo flights couldn't depart simply because no legally available crew remained to operate them. According to multiple aviation sources, the airline reached a critical point where entire flight rotations had to be cancelled because previously scheduled pilots were no longer eligible to fly under the revised limitations.

2. New Roster Rules (FDTL Norms)

India's latest Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) are designed to minimize fatigue and enhance safety standards. IndiGo, which operates one of Asia's largest networks with over 2,200 daily flights including numerous night-time operations, struggled to reconstruct rosters in accordance with the new timeframes.

The new regulations necessitated complete revisions to duty schedules, night-landing plans, and weekly rest charts. Industry insiders revealed that the airline's scheduling systems had not fully adapted, creating immediate crew deficiencies across high-traffic routes.

3. Technical Glitches At Major Airports

On Tuesday, major airports including Delhi and Pune experienced failures in their check-in and departure control systems, resulting in extended queues and delayed departures across numerous IndiGo routes. These delays accumulated quickly throughout the day, disrupting the carefully coordinated movement of aircraft and crew.

4. Airport Congestion and Winter Traffic

High passenger volumes, winter fog-related operational challenges, and peak-hour congestion at major metropolitan airports further hindered IndiGo's ability to recover lost time. With its tightly packed schedule, even minor delays created widespread disruptions across its network.

According to IndiGo's website, the airline operates "well over 2,200 daily flights." Government data from Tuesday showed its on-time performance had declined dramatically to just 35 percent, suggesting that more than 1,400 flights experienced delays in a single day.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reported that 1,232 flights were cancelled during November.

What Are the New Roster Rules?

India's civil aviation regulator introduced more stringent FDTL rules aimed at enhancing safety by reducing crew fatigue. The changes include:

Higher Weekly Rest Requirements

Pilots now require longer mandatory rest periods each week. This reduces the number of consecutive duties they can legally perform and affects overall roster planning.

Restrictions On Night Landings

The permissible number of night landings a pilot can perform has been reduced from six to two within a specified period. Airlines with substantial night-time operations have been particularly affected.

Reduced Duty Hours

The regulations impose stricter limits on continuous duty periods, necessitating more pilots to operate the same schedule.

The DGCA limits flight time to:

8 hours per day

35 hours per week

125 hours per month

1,000 hours per year

Crew members must also receive rest periods equivalent to twice the duration of their flight duties, with a minimum of 10 hours rest within any 24-hour window.

While these norms improve safety standards, they require airlines, especially those with rapid-turnaround models, to deploy additional pilots per aircraft. IndiGo's extensive overnight network proved particularly vulnerable to this regulatory change.

Why Are Other Airlines Not Affected The Same Way?

Although the new regulations apply universally across airlines, IndiGo has experienced the most significant disruption due to several structural factors:

1. Scale and Frequency

IndiGo operates the majority of India's domestic flights. With such substantial volume, even a minor disruption creates major nationwide consequences.

2. Large Night-Time Network

While competitors like Air India, Vistara and Akasa operate relatively fewer night sectors, IndiGo maintains numerous high-frequency overnight services. The restriction on night landings significantly reduced how many flights a single crew pairing could legally operate.

3. Tight Crew Utilization Model

IndiGo's network efficiency relies on maximizing crew hours and minimizing downtime. Once the duty-time limits tightened, operational gaps appeared almost immediately.

4. Lower Flexibility In Network Realignment

Airlines with smaller networks found it easier to adjust schedules. IndiGo's vast matrix of connections made quickly reshuffling pilots and cabin crew particularly challenging.

When Will The Situation Improve?

IndiGo states it is implementing "calibrated adjustments" and expects operations to stabilize within approximately 48 hours. The airline is redistributing crew across high-stress routes, modifying night schedules, conducting pre-planned cancellations to prevent last-minute disruptions, and reorganizing aircraft and crew rotations.

Passengers have been advised to continually check flight status and anticipate continued delays during this transitional period.

"We sincerely apologise to our customers... A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges, including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules, had a negative compounding impact on our operations," IndiGo said in a statement.