India’s travel crisis deepened on Friday as IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, cancelled hundreds of flights following three days of severe disruption. The carrier, which operates over 2,000 daily flights, has struggled with pilot shortages after failing to adjust to new crew-rest rules.
Thousands of passengers remain stranded nationwide, and all IndiGo departures from Delhi have been halted. The airline says full normalcy will return only by 10 February and plans to cut flight schedules from 8 December to reduce further chaos.
The aviation ministry has criticised IndiGo’s handling of the crisis, while India’s regulator blamed “misjudgment and planning gaps” in implementing the new duty-time limits. The airline has been asked to immediately submit a detailed recovery and safety plan.
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IndiGo has waived rescheduling fees for travel between 5 and 15 December and is arranging accommodation for affected travellers. But angry passengers have flooded social media with complaints of poor communication, as major airports urge travellers to check flight status before leaving for terminals.
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