IndiGo Flight Crisis: Thousands Stranded as Cancellations Continue Amid Government Criticism

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New Delhi:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that the IndiGo "fiasco" demonstrates the cost of the Centre's "monopoly model," as India's largest airline continued to cancel hundreds of flights for the fourth consecutive day.

Gandhi, who serves as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, stated that ordinary Indian citizens are the ones "paying the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness."

"IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt's monopoly model. Once again, it's ordinary Indians who pay the price - in delays, cancellations and helplessness," he wrote on X.

"India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies," the Congress leader added.

IndiGo has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights across India on Friday after failing to adequately adjust its roster planning to accommodate new government regulations. Flight operations were disrupted at airports in Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and other cities, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

On Thursday, IndiGo, which reportedly operates approximately 2,200 flights daily, cancelled more than 500 flights, marking the highest number of cancellations in a single day throughout its 20-year operational history. The airline informed the aviation watchdog DGCA that operations are expected to fully stabilize by February 10 next year and requested temporary relaxations in flight duty norms.

IndiGo acknowledged that the recent flight disruptions were primarily caused by misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms. The airline also informed the regulator that additional cancellations would continue until December 8, after which there would be a reduction in services.

IndiGo Chaos

The Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on Thursday that it has taken "serious note" of the operational disruptions and flight cancellations across IndiGo's network.

Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu chaired a high-level review meeting with IndiGo's senior management. During this meeting, IndiGo presented data regarding cancellations and attributed the disruption to challenges in crew planning, implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, and seasonal weather-related constraints.

Naidu expressed "clear displeasure" concerning how the airline had handled the situation, according to a statement from his office.

The Minister emphasized that "ample preparatory time" had been available for ensuring a seamless transition to the new regulatory requirements.

Naidu directed IndiGo to urgently normalize its operations and to ensure that there is "no increase in airfares" resulting from the current situation.

He also conducted a meeting with senior officers of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and instructed that all airport directors must continuously monitor the ground situation and provide full support to all stranded passengers.