Priyanka Chaturvedi Calls for Parliamentary Address on IndiGo's Massive Flight Disruptions

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has submitted a notice under Rule 180 in the Rajya Sabha, calling for Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu to address the significant operational disruptions affecting IndiGo airlines across India.

New Delhi authorities have been alerted to the situation as IndiGo experiences an unprecedented number of flight cancellations, with approximately 170-200 flights being cancelled daily—substantially exceeding normal cancellation rates.

In her formal notice, Chaturvedi emphasized the urgent nature of the matter: "I hereby give notice under Rule 180 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to call the attention of the Minister of Civil Aviation to the following matter of urgent public importance."

The MP highlighted concerns regarding passenger safety and convenience, describing the widespread disruption experienced on Wednesday when flights faced delays of up to seven hours. More than 70 flights were cancelled nationwide, affecting major airports including Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

Chaturvedi detailed that "an acute shortage of crew and other operational issues" caused these disruptions. She noted that both domestic routes and international services, including the Mumbai-Maldives flight, were severely impacted during peak travel hours.

"The matter is of urgent public importance as thousands of passengers were stranded, normal airport functioning was affected, and recurrent large-scale disruptions in airline services highlight a need for immediate government intervention, accountability measures, and safeguards to prevent future occurrences," she stated, requesting the Minister make an expedited statement on the issue.

On Thursday, IndiGo approached the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) seeking temporary exemptions from certain Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) provisions for its A320 fleet until February 10, 2026. The airline assured authorities that operational stability would be fully restored by this date.

Following a comprehensive review meeting chaired by the DGCA with IndiGo's senior leadership, the regulatory body reported: "To reduce passenger inconvenience while maintaining safety margins, IndiGo has requested operational variations or exemptions from specific FDTL provisions for A320 operations up to February 10, 2026. IndiGo has assured DGCA that corrective actions are underway and that normalised and stable operations will be fully restored by February 10, 2026."

The DGCA's investigation determined that IndiGo's operational failures stemmed from transitional challenges in implementing Phase 2 of the revised FDTL regulations, crew-planning deficiencies, and winter-season limitations. These revised fatigue-management protocols, enforced following court directives, were implemented in two stages—July 1 and November 1, 2025.