India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has been facing one of the most severe operational breakdowns in recent years, resulting in widespread cancellations, delays, and passenger chaos across major airports. The airline’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, addressed the situation on Friday, offering a detailed explanation of the disruptions and outlining a timeline for recovery. According to Elbers, the airline expects operations to stabilise between December 10 and 15, with daily cancellations projected to fall below 1,000 starting tomorrow.
In a key statement containing your required line exactly, he said:
“Dec 5 was the most severely impacted day with the number of cancellations well over 1000. I extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience it has caused to our customers…FDTL implementation relief is a great help…It will take some time to return to full normal situation, which we do anticipate between 10-15 December…” said the airline’s CEO.
This acknowledgment comes amid rising criticism from passengers, aviation analysts, and regulatory authorities.
Severe Disruptions Across India’s Airports
Over the past week, air travel across India has been severely impacted as IndiGo — which controls almost two-thirds of India’s domestic air traffic — struggled to manage its flight schedules. On Friday alone, the airline cancelled around 500 flights, including all departures from New Delhi, leaving thousands of travellers stranded for several hours.
Many passengers reported missing international connections, wedding commitments, job interviews, and medical appointments due to the cascading delays. Several airports, including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, saw long queues and overcrowding as information regarding rebookings remained limited.
The situation escalated after the airline failed to adequately plan for new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms for pilots, forcing last-minute cancellations due to crew unavailability.
Why the Crisis Escalated: FDTL, Weather, and System Gaps
IndiGo attributed the disruptions to multiple overlapping operational challenges. The airline said that gaps in planning for the second-phase implementation of FDTL norms, seasonal weather changes, congestion, and technical issues collectively created a “negative compounding effect.”
Compounding this was the sheer scale of IndiGo’s daily operations — nearly 2,300 flights, both domestic and international. Even minor disruptions tend to magnify across such a vast network.
The DGCA later announced that the implementation of the updated FDTL rules would be kept in abeyance, offering temporary relief to the airline.
System Reboot as Last Resort: IndiGo’s Explanation
Pieter Elbers said the “reboot” of IndiGo’s entire flight schedule and backend systems was unavoidable.
He explained that “earlier measures of the last few days had proven not to be enough,” and the airline had to take stronger corrective steps to reset its network.
The reboot resulted in the highest single-day cancellations so far, but according to the CEO, this move was essential to “enable progressive improvements.”
With DGCA offering temporary relaxation on FDTL enforcement and with internal realignments underway, IndiGo expects cancellations to fall below 1,000 beginning the next day.
Impact on Passengers and the Aviation Ecosystem
The disruptions have renewed discussions on crew rostering, airline contingency planning, passenger rights, and India’s rapidly expanding aviation ecosystem. With domestic air travel recovering rapidly post-pandemic, airlines are under pressure to balance capacity, safety, and punctuality.
Industry experts say the crisis underscores the need for:
- stronger forecasting of pilot availability
- better communication with passengers
- more robust scheduling systems
- adherence to safety norms without compromising operational stability
Despite the turbulence, both IndiGo and DGCA maintain that safety remains the top priority.
Gradual Restoration Expected by Mid-December
IndiGo has assured its passengers and regulators that the situation will stabilise within the next week. The airline continues to face scrutiny as it works to restore public confidence.
With the festive and winter travel seasons approaching peak demand, timely restoration of normal operations remains critical.