India’s airports are witnessing chaotic scenes as almost 300 IndiGo flights have been cancelled across the country. Thousands of passengers across the country have been waiting to hear back from the airline for the next course of action, even as the airline staff struggle to deal with the chaos.
The trigger
IndiGo has been facing two big challenges at once- both due to developments beyond its control. Last week, Airbus grounded almost half of the A320 fleet worldwide to undergo urgent software updates to address vulnerabilities in its flight control systems.
For IndiGo, this has meant taking almost 385 planes out of service for the three-hour software update, a disruption that it can hardly afford.
Along with that, the DGCA’s revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules for the flight crew came into effect, which have increased the number of hours needed for rest for pilots and cabin crew. IndiGo has clearly been unprepared for its implementation, with its whole schedule going haywire due to a lack of staff to operate the flights.
Besides that, technology glitches, adverse weather and increased congestion at the airports have also played a part in the chaos.
The implementation delay that cost IndiGo dear
The new FDTL regulations were scheduled to be implemented in two phases- July 1 and November 1. The rules have been designed to help flight crew combat fatigue and help them rest adequately between flights. Though other operators like Air India and Akasa saw only limited challenges in their schedules, IndiGo seems to have found itself unable to deal with the two challenges at once.
Due to this, even Air India and Akasa have reported flight delays, as IndiGo’s flights have blocked the gates for the flights to operate.
“A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations) had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated,” the company said in a statement.
The company is currently looking to readjust its schedules to restore normalcy.
“These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow us to normalize our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network. Our teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilize as quickly as possible,” the statement added.
Outlier position under threat?
These challenges have resulted in an uphill battle for the airline, which currently commands over 60 percent share in India’s growing civil aviation sector. The company has been growing strong over the years, consistently reporting profits even though many companies have failed or have been operating losses over the years due to the highly challenging operating environment, which leaves limited room for margins while rising fuel costs, and unexpected disruptions can affect the entire network.
IndiGo has reported a loss of ₹2,582 crore for Q2 FY26 as against a profit of ₹2,176 crore in the quarter before that. The company’s share prices have also dipped more than 4% over the last three months, even as the company is expected to find a spot in the Sensex on December 22, after joining Nifty earlier this year.
