IndiGo flight chaos: Bengaluru flights to Delhi, Mumbai cancelled till midnight. Airport issues advisory

The Kempegowda International Airport on Friday said that all flights departing from Bengaluru to Delhi and those departing to Mumbai have been cancelled till midnight. The airport authorities also advised passengers to verify the latest flight status with the airline before leaving for the airport. 

Passengers facing problems due to hundreds of flights being cancelled held a protest inside the airport premises. The development comes as the airline is witnessing widespread operational disruptions due to pilot-rostering issues, leaving passengers stranded at airports nationwide.

On Friday,  the airline reported the highest number of cancellations, with more than 750 flights affected. 

Read the airport's full advisory here

Meanwhile, the airline has cancelled all its departing domestic flights from the Delhi airport till midnight. IndiGo has also cancelled all departing flights from Chennai airport till 6 pm on Friday. 

Chandigarh airport authorities announced that all IndiGo flights operating from the facility have been cancelled till 10 pm on the same day. Amid widespread cancellations, IndiGo has announced a full refund policy for all flights cancelled between December 5 and 15.

The refunds would be processed automatically to the original payment method. Besides, the airline is also offering a complete waiver on cancellations or rescheduling during this period. 

IndiGo has also arranged thousands of hotel rooms, surface transport, and food options to ease passenger inconvenience. It will also provide lounge access to senior citizens, wherever available.

Moreover, the government has ordered a high-level inquiry to determine the reasons and fix accountability for IndiGo flight disruptions. The government said that it has kept the new flight duty norms in abeyance and is taking other operational steps to help normalise operations. 

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said that due to the initiation of various operational steps, flight schedules are expected to return to normal by tomorrow. He added that the government expects the complete restoration of services will be achieved within the next 3 days. 

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas accused the government of mismanagement amid widespread flight delays and cancellations. He claimed that the government "have consciously ushered in a duopoly and a cartel, not permitting any other airline". 

He added: "They introduced directions that have not been properly implemented. This typically makes people understand how they deal with critical situations. The Parliament session will also be affected, as many MPs coming from outside are unable to attend. We want the minister to make a suo motu statement addressing Parliament and the nation".