(Image source from: Ndtv.com)
On Saturday, IndiGo cancelled 405 domestic flights as the airline's serious issues continued for a fifth day. IndiGo, which runs about 2,300 flights each day with over 400 planes, has experienced a significant drop in its punctuality due to ongoing disruptions, which are likely to persist for several more days. The main reason for this crisis was an unexpected lack of pilots caused by poor planning, and officials are closely monitoring the situation. There have been scenes of complete disorder at airports nationwide as IndiGo's domestic passengers showed their annoyance over delayed or cancelled flights. At the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, 86 domestic IndiGo flights were dropped on Saturday. At the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, nineteen flights were cancelled.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai experienced cancellations of 109 flights. In Pune, the airport saw 42 flights cancelled. Around 30 IndiGo flights were also cancelled at Chennai Airport. Additionally, 50 flights were cancelled at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad reported 69 domestic flight cancellations. Late on Friday, IndiGo released an apology on the social media site X. "We sincerely apologize and recognize how tough the last few days have been for many of you. Although this issue will not be resolved instantly, we promise to do everything we can to assist you for now and to restore normal operations as soon as possible," IndiGo stated. The airline confirmed that refunds for all cancelled flights would automatically go back to the original payment method used by the travelers. Also on Friday, the airline's CEO mentioned that full normal operations for domestic flights are expected between December 10 and 15, although IndiGo warned that the recovery process would take time due to the size of their operations.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu expressed on Friday that IndiGo's operational crisis is "nearly resolved." In a special interview with NDTV, Naidu stated, "I can say it is close to being resolved. The major congestion occurred at metro airports... and we see that most of the metro airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai - have cleared the backlog of passengers from the past couple of days. The remaining situations should be sorted out by tonight. IndiGo will begin limited operations again tomorrow.""As their operations stabilize, they will increase capacity. However, passengers should not face issues starting tomorrow. Full capacity for IndiGo's operations may take a few more days to return," he assured.
