IndiGo cancels 250+ flights — roster-norm changes throw the biggest Indian airline into chaos
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Summary: IndiGo cancelled over 250 flights across India as new pilot duty and rest-hour norms disrupting crew scheduling, leaving passengers stranded and airports in turmoil.
Indian aviation took a big hit today as IndiGo cancelled more than 250 flights across its network — a fallout from recently tightened roster and duty-time rules. The disruption has left thousands of travellers in limbo and exposed the fragile balancing act airlines must maintain under new regulations.
On Thursday alone, cancellations were reported at major hubs: around 33 flights from Delhi, 68 from Hyderabad, 85 from Mumbai, and 73 from Bengaluru were scrapped. The carry-over impact came after a wave of around 150 flight cancellations the previous day.
This happened due to the introduction of stricter Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, aimed at ensuring crew rest and passenger safety. With these new rules, pilots and cabin crew may operate fewer hours at a time, have longer weekly rest periods, and are not allowed as many night landings or as busy schedules.
Unfortunately, IndiGo’s crew roster planning couldn’t keep up with the tighter limits. Sources say the airline has suffered from an acute crew shortage ever since FDTL came into effect. When schedules got squeezed, and there wasn’t enough rested staff to fly, flights had to be scrubbed.
Airports nationwide have been thrown into disarray. Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai saw long queues at check-in counters, agitated travellers, and a scramble for alternate flights or refunds. For many, connections were missed, or onward travel was completely disrupted.
IndiGo has issued a public apology and said it will attempt “calibrated adjustments” over the next 48 hours to stabilise operations. A spokesperson claimed operational troubles were due not just to roster constraints, but also to technology glitches, increased winter-season congestion, and weather-related delays.
This isn’t a one-off issue — data shows IndiGo cancelled over 1,200 flights in November alone, many blamed on roster and crew-availability problems.
The situation has sparked a full inquiry from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which has asked the airline to explain the disruption and submit a mitigation plan.
For travellers, this means more uncertainty — today’s cancellations are likely just the start until IndiGo figures out how to rework crews, schedules, and comply with the stricter norms. Airlines across India may now be assessing their own rosters closely, but for now, the chaos at airports continues.
