IndiGo impact: Domestic air travel fares skyrocket; Delhi-Mumbai at ₹36,000, Delhi-Chennai ₹69,000

India’s largest airline IndiGo is grappling with one of its worst operational disruptions in recent years, triggering nationwide cancellations, hours-long delays, passenger chaos at major airports, and an unprecedented spike in domestic airfares across key metro routes. 

With IndiGo’s cancellations rippling across the system, fares on several trunk routes touched record highs. Data reviewed from booking platforms on December 5 showed: 

• New Delhi-Chennai: ₹68,932 (SpiceJet, via connecting flight; 7 hr 25 min). 
• Delhi-Bengaluru: ₹39,101 (Akasa Air QP 1350). 
• Ahmedabad-Mumbai: ₹20,359 (IndiGo 6E 5346). 
• Kolkata-Mumbai: ₹31,444 (Akasa QP 1560). 
• Kolkata-Bengaluru: ₹24,176 (Akasa QP 1564). 
• Pune-Kolkata: ₹24,948 (IndiGo 6E 6561). 
• Pune-Hyderabad: ₹17,501 (Star Air S5 174). 

On the heavily congested Delhi-Mumbai sector, the cheapest non-stop fare available on December 5 was ₹35,952 (SpiceJet, 20:00-22:40). A one-stop option on Air India for the same day cost ₹51,133. 

The Delhi-Bengaluru sector — already hit hard due to crew shortages — saw fares soar past ₹40,000 on multiple flights. Even the cheapest option was around ₹27,000, while alternatives on Air India and Air India Express exceeded ₹36,000. 

In a striking comparison, international travel became cheaper than flying within India: 

• Delhi-Dubai: ₹23,000 
• Bengaluru-Dubai: ₹18,000 

Flight cancellations leave airports overwhelmed 

On Friday, more than 589 IndiGo flights were cancelled nationwide, leading to massive queues and crowding across airports. 

• Delhi: Over 220 cancellations 
• Bengaluru: More than 100 
• Hyderabad: Over 90 
• Kolkata: Dozens of cancellations and delays through Thursday 
• Thiruvananthapuram: Disruptions continued for three consecutive days 

Delhi Airport issued an advisory warning of “operational challenges” and urged travellers to check their flight status before leaving for the terminal. 

IndiGo has attributed the meltdown to revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules introduced for pilot fatigue management: 

• Mandatory weekly rest increased from 36 to 48 hours 
• Maximum night landings cut from 6 to 2 per week 
• ‘Night hours’ expanded, restricting available duty time 
• Stricter rostering norms affecting crew availability 

These changes, combined with IndiGo’s massive network scale, triggered what CEO Pieter Elbers described as a “cascading effect” across operations. 

IndiGo CEO acknowledges failure, promises fix 

In a letter to employees, CEO Pieter Elbers admitted the airline had failed to deliver on its service promise, stating: “Our immediate goal is to normalise our operations and bring punctuality back on track… Given the size, scale and complexity of our network, these disruptions grow large immediately and require interventions on multiple levels.” 

He added that the airline had apologised to customers and was working around the clock to stabilise schedules. “We have faced tough moments before… Together, as one team, we will overcome this challenge and emerge even stronger.” 

While IndiGo expects gradual improvement, executives privately acknowledge that full normalisation could take days, possibly stretching longer if crew availability doesn’t stabilise.