IndiGo Faces Severe Operational Crisis Amid 2,000 Flight Cancellations, As Regulatory Changes and Crew Shortages Disrupt Operations

KalimNews, New Delhi, December 6, 2025 : India's largest airline, IndiGo, is grappling with one of its most severe operational crises in recent memory, with over 2,000 flights cancelled in just five days. This significant disruption has led to long queues at airports, thousands of stranded passengers, and widespread criticism of the airline’s ability to manage its resources amid new regulations. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has intervened, mandating immediate corrective actions and refunds for all affected passengers.

Reasons for the Flight Cancellations and Disruptions

The root causes of the flight cancellations and delays are manifold, primarily revolving around a combination of regulatory changes, crew shortages, and technical issues. The immediate triggers for the mass flight cancellations include:

1. Acute Crew Shortage
   IndiGo has been facing a severe shortage of pilots and cabin crew, especially after the implementation of stricter Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules on November 1, 2025. These new regulations limit the number of hours pilots can work, enforce longer mandatory rest periods, and restrict the number of night landings a pilot can undertake. As a result, many pilots were forced to take extended rest, and the airline found itself unable to deploy enough crew to operate its scheduled flights. According to internal sources, entire rotations had to be cancelled due to crew shortages, with no legally available crew remaining to operate flights.

2. Implementation of New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL)
   The updated FDTL regulations were introduced to reduce pilot fatigue and ensure greater flight safety. They impose limits on pilots’ working hours and mandate more frequent rest periods. For IndiGo, which operates a vast network with a significant number of night-time flights, the new rules were particularly challenging. The airline struggled to realign its rosters in time for the implementation of Phase II of the FDTL rules, which further exacerbated the shortage of available pilots and crew members.

3. Technical Glitches at Key Airports
   On the days following the cancellations, several key airports, including Delhi and Pune, reported technical issues with their check-in and departure control systems. These failures caused significant delays, further contributing to the operational chaos and triggering cascading flight cancellations throughout the day.

4. High Congestion at Major Airports and Weather Disruptions
   The ongoing winter season, coupled with dense fog and peak passenger traffic, added further pressure to the already strained systems. The increased congestion at major metro airports made it harder for IndiGo to recover from delays, and minor disruptions quickly snowballed into larger operational challenges.

   

IndiGo’s Fleet, Pilots, and Operational Scale

IndiGo operates one of the largest fleets in Asia, with over 300 aircraft. The airline's fleet is composed mainly of Airbus A320 series aircraft, including A320 Neos and A321s, used for both domestic and international operations. IndiGo operates both domestic and international flights, serving more than 100 destinations globally.

• Total Fleet: Over 300 aircraft

• Pilots: IndiGo employs over 6,000 pilots

• Cabin Crew: The airline has more than 15,000 cabin crew members

• Daily Flights: IndiGo typically operates around 2,300 flights per day, making it the largest airline in India by fleet size and market share.

Breakdown of Daily Operations

IndiGo's flight operations are heavily skewed towards the domestic market, though it also operates a significant number of international flights. On a typical day:

• Domestic Flights: IndiGo runs over 1,800 domestic flights daily, serving cities across India from major hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.

• International Flights: The airline operates over 500 international flights per day, covering destinations across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and more.

The airline's business model relies on high-frequency, short-turnaround flights, particularly at night. This model has made it vulnerable to the new FDTL regulations, as the restrictions on night landings and the reduction in flight hours per crew member have made it difficult to maintain operations without sufficient crew.

The Impact of Regulatory Changes and Crew Shortages

Despite operating with a high number of flights daily, IndiGo has been unable to effectively adapt to the new FDTL regulations that were rolled out in two phases. The airline was granted two years to prepare for the implementation of these rules, which were introduced to address concerns over pilot fatigue and improve flight safety.

• Phase I (July 2025): In response to the initial phase of the FDTL regulations, IndiGo opted to reduce annual leave days for pilots, but this did not adequately address the underlying issue of crew availability.

• Phase II (November 2025): With stricter limits on pilots' flying hours, including the imposition of caps on weekly and monthly flight hours, the airline found it increasingly difficult to meet the demand for pilots, particularly for night-time operations.

IndiGo's failure to properly plan crew rotations and forecast crew requirements in line with the new rules left the airline exposed. Despite assurances that the airline had enough pilots, the reality was that proper recruitment, training, and roster realignment were not carried out in a timely manner. This mismanagement, coupled with technical failures and peak-season congestion, led to the mass cancellations and disruptions seen this week.

Cancellations and Delays in November 2025

In November 2025, IndiGo was already grappling with a high number of cancellations and delays. A total of 1,232 flights were cancelled during the month, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This surge in cancellations was a direct result of the implementation of Phase II of the FDTL regulations and the challenges IndiGo faced in meeting the new requirements, particularly due to crew shortages and rostering issues.

The disruption this month compounded existing operational challenges, further damaging the airline's reputation for punctuality and reliability.

Government Intervention and Immediate Directives

In light of ongoing operational disruptions, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued several directives to IndiGo to mitigate the impact on passengers. These directives include:

1. Passenger Refunds and Support
   IndiGo has been ordered to complete all refunds for cancelled flights by 8 PM on Sunday. The airline has been instructed to ensure that affected passengers are contacted proactively and provided with alternative travel arrangements or full refunds without requiring them to repeatedly follow up.

2. Baggage Delivery
   The ministry has also mandated that any baggage separated from passengers due to cancellations or delays must be delivered within 48 hours.

3. Temporary Suspension of FDTL Rules
   To allow IndiGo to stabilise operations, the ministry has temporarily put certain aspects of the FDTL rules on hold until February 2026. This includes provisions regarding weekly rest and night landings, which have been particularly problematic for the airline.

4. Regulatory Oversight and Inquiry
   A high-level inquiry has been launched to determine the reasons behind IndiGo’s operational failures and to hold the airline accountable for its inability to comply with safety and crew planning regulations.

The Road to Recovery

IndiGo has stated that it expects to return to normal operations between December 10 and December 15, 2025. The airline is attempting to recalibrate its schedules, including pre-planned cancellations, in order to normalise operations without further chaos. However, given the scale of the disruptions and the number of affected passengers, it remains to be seen how quickly the airline can fully recover.

While IndiGo maintains that staffing shortages were a significant contributing factor, industry experts believe that the crisis points to deeper issues with the airline’s long-term planning and its ability to balance growth with operational efficiency. The temporary suspension of the new FDTL rules will provide some relief, but the airline will need to undertake significant reforms to avoid similar disruptions in the future.

Passengers are advised to keep checking flight statuses and expect continued delays, though the airline has assured that it is working hard to restore normalcy to its operations. 

(With inputs from PTI and Agencies)