IndiGo begins mass baggage return as 450 more flights cancelled amid nationwide chaos

IndiGo has begun the painstaking process of returning thousands of stranded passengers’ bags, even as its flight operations remain crippled for the seventh consecutive day. At Delhi Airport, where arrival and departure luggage has piled up in massive heaps, airline teams are now sorting each bag by sector, identifying passengers through baggage tags, and arranging doorstep delivery through a third-party logistics agency.

According to officials, “using the tags attached to the baggage, passengers are being identified and contacted through phone calls, and IndiGo is sending their bags to their home addresses.” Every sector’s luggage is being segregated, verified and dispatched, with the airline assuring that “IndiGo will ensure that every passenger’s bag reaches their home.”

The baggage crisis comes alongside another wave of large-scale cancellations. More than 450 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Monday across multiple airports as the airline struggled to stabilise operations. At Delhi airport, 134 flights, 75 departures and 59 arrivals were cancelled. Bengaluru reported 127 cancellations, followed by Chennai (71), Hyderabad (77) and Jammu (20).

Other major airports were also hit: Ahmedabad grounded 20 flights, Vizag saw seven cancellations, and airports in Mumbai and Kolkata continued to experience serious disruptions. By 10:30 am, the total known cancellations stood at 456.

The cancellations follow Sunday’s tally of more than 650 cancelled flights, down from the over 1,000 cancellations recorded two days earlier. Officials said over ₹610 crore in refunds have already been processed for affected passengers.

IndiGo has attributed the crisis to a shortage of cockpit crew, triggered by the full rollout of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, which are mandatory rest requirements for pilots. With the new rules causing widespread operational paralysis, the government intervened and temporarily stayed the regulation. The airline now hopes to restore normal operations by December 10.

Amid mounting pressure, the DGCA on Sunday granted IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras a 24-hour extension to respond to show-cause notices over the disruptions. Their replies are due by 6 pm Monday.

With hundreds still stranded at airports, the Civil Aviation Ministry has capped airfares, ordered expedited refunds, and launched a high-level inquiry. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the responsibility lies squarely with IndiGo, adding that the pilot-duty directive “was issued a year ago.”

Officials also confirmed that IndiGo has delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers nationwide as of Saturday, as part of the ongoing recovery effort.