This is an absolute mess at Delhi Airport. The chaos surrounding IndiGo, India’s largest airline, is unprecedented, with nearly 1,300 flights cancelled since Tuesday. The core issue is a complete failure to staff up to meet new, mandatory safety regulations.
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Here are the field notes on the crisis, the cause, and the conflicting information from the ground:
IndiGo Crisis: Delhi Flights Scrapped Amid Record Cancellations
The situation is escalating. The most recent order, issued Friday morning, stated all IndiGo domestic flights departing Delhi are cancelled till midnight. This followed a day where the airline had already scrubbed over 500 flights across India.
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The Chaos on the Ground
Conflicting Information: There is mass confusion. While Delhi Airport announced the midnight cancellation, sources inside the aviation regulator, the DGCA (Directorate-General of Civil Aviation), immediately contradicted that, saying flights were only cancelled till 3 pm. This conflicting information only fuels passenger rage and confusion, adding to the piles of stranded suitcases and stranded people.
Safety Red Flag: The DGCA had already red-flagged the airline, not just for the delays, but for the sheer lack of ground staff at Terminal 1 to handle the thousands of irate, stranded passengers.
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📉 The Real Cause: Pilot Shortage and Safety Rules
The problem isn’t weather; it’s a colossal failure in planning. The airline has admitted it misjudged the number of pilots needed to comply with new safety rules.
FDTL Rules: The new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules were phased in starting July 1 and November 1. These rules are mandatory: they require increased rest periods (from 36 to 48 hours in a seven-day period) and cap the number of consecutive hours a pilot can be on duty.
The Result: IndiGo simply did not have the pilots or crew to operate hundreds of flights, including its massive number of overnight and daily services (it runs over 2,200 flights normally). Those pilots listed on old rosters were now illegally over-scheduled.
Pilot Retort: The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) immediately criticized the airline’s “unorthodox lean manpower strategy,” telling management to “stop blaming pilots… fix management practices.” They questioned why the airline continued to expand its flight schedules, including seasonal operations, despite knowing it lacked the required crew.
What Happens Next?
The disruptions are set to continue.
More Delays: IndiGo has already warned of more disruptions until December 8 at least. Overall, nearly 1,300 flights have been cancelled since Tuesday.
The Plea: IndiGo has formally sought an exemption from the new FDTL rules until February 10, 2026, hoping to buy time to hire and stabilize operations.
Management Warning: CEO Pieter Elbers apologized but warned staff that restoring services and pre-chaos levels of punctuality “will not be easy.” The cost of this monopoly model is being heavily criticized by political figures like Rahul Gandhi.
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