IndiGo flight cancellations: All domestic flights from Delhi Airport cancelled - airline CEO says situation 'will be normal next week'
India’s largest airline IndiGo has cancelled hundreds of scheduled flights on Friday 5 December.
It comes after three days of widespread disruption across its network. The carrier has been facing pilot shortages after it failed to adapt to new crew rostering rules.
Thousands of passengers are stranded across India in what's a busy travel season, with all IndiGo flights from the capital Delhi cancelled. IndiGo has said operations will return to full normalcy only by 10 February, and has sought temporary relief on the new rules that call for more rest hours and restricted night-duty.
Pieter Elbers, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IndiGo, issued his sincerest apologies over the massive disruption of the airline's domestic flights departing from Delhi. In a video statement, Elbers said that it would take some time for the ongoing situation to become normal. “Situation will be normal between December 10 and 15,” he added.
The airline has also said it will reduce its flight operations to minimise disruptions from 8 December. The government has said it is closely monitoring the situation with the federal aviation minister expressing "clear displeasure" with how the airline had handled the situation.
In a separate statement, India's aviation regulator said the disruptions were primarily on account of "misjudgment and planning gaps" in implementing the new flight duty time limitation rules. IndiGo has said it will waive off all cancellation/reschedule requests for travel between 5 and 15 December. It is also arranging for hotel rooms and food for passengers whose travel has been disrupted.
Major airports in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities have issued advisories asking passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.