New Delhi: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has warned passengers that widespread flight disruptions will continue for several more days, with full operational stability expected only by February 10. The announcement comes amid an unprecedented wave of cancellations that has left thousands of travelers stranded across the country.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers acknowledged that the airline’s services have been severely affected, with over 500 flights cancelled so far, marking the most significant operational breakdown in the carrier’s 20-year history. He reiterated that cancellations would continue today as teams work urgently to restore the schedule.
Elbers issued a public apology, admitting that the airline had been unable to uphold the standards it promises its customers. “We could not live up to our commitment to passengers over the past days, and for that we sincerely apologise,” he said.
IndiGo is now entering its third consecutive day of large-scale cancellations. The airline has pointed to a combination of factors behind the crisis, including:
• Pilot shortages,
• Technical and scheduling issues, and
• New government guidelines mandating longer mandatory rest periods for flight crew.
The updated Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules aimed at enhancing crew safety and reducing fatigue-related risks have further tightened staffing requirements. IndiGo has conceded that it did not anticipate how severely the new norms would impact manpower planning.
“We did not fully account for the increased rest requirements and the gap in available staff under the new rules,” the airline said in its internal assessment.
The airline has made it clear that the situation will remain unstable for the next two to three days, during which time additional flights will be cancelled as part of an effort to gradually realign schedules and rebuild operational capacity.
Despite the crisis, IndiGo has said all its teams including operations, engineering, and customer service are working round the clock to assist affected passengers and restore stability as quickly as possible.
While passengers continue to face long queues, delays, and rebookings, the airline has assured that the situation will progressively improve, with full normalcy expected only by February 10.