IndiGo chaos continues: More than 220 flights cancellations at Delhi, Mumbai on day six

IndiGo cancelled more than 220 flights at Delhi and Mumbai airports on Sunday as the disruptions entered the sixth day, as reported by PTI. 

The airline is still trying to fix the situation. The continued chaos over the past few days has caused hundreds of flight cancellations and delays, creating major trouble for thousands of passengers across the country.

At least 112 flights were cancelled in Mumbai, 109 in Delhi and nearly 40 flights in Chennai. The airline had seen its worst day on Friday, when around 1,600 of its 2,300 daily flights were cancelled. Things eased slightly on Saturday, with cancellations dropping to about 800. IndiGo said it managed to operate 1,500 flights that day.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO and Accountable Manager Porqueras were served notices by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday, asking them to explain the large-scale meltdown within 24 hours. The notices flagged “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management” and said the primary cause of the disruption was the airline’s failure to make adequate arrangements for the revised requirements under the approved Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) scheme.

IndiGo, in a statement, said it operated only 700 flights on Friday as part of an effort to “reboot the network, systems, and rosters so that we could start afresh today (Saturday) with higher number of flights, improved stability, and there are some early signs of improvement”.

The government is keeping a close watch on the situation and authorities are prepared to take appropriate action once the inquiry committee submits its findings. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held what officials described as a “serious meeting” with Elbers in Delhi on Saturday, attended by senior ministry officials including Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai. At the meeting, Elbers was told to ensure the airline complies with the new FDTL norms within the specified timeframe.

Officials said the immediate priority is restoring normal operations and ensuring prompt refunds for affected passengers. There have also been reports that strong action could be taken against the airline and its CEO.

To investigate the crisis, the DGCA on Friday formed a four-member inquiry panel comprising Joint Director General Sanjay K Bramhane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector Captain Kapil Manglik and Flight Operations Inspector Captain Rampal. The committee has 15 days to submit its findings and recommendations, which will guide any regulatory enforcement action.

Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry on Saturday introduced several measures to ease passenger distress. These include capping airfares and directing IndiGo to process full refunds for all cancelled or delayed flights by 8 pm on Sunday.

(With inputs from PTI )