Passengers were waiting at Mumbai airport on Wednesday as the pilot shortage at IndiGo led to at least 200 cancellations and lengthy delays of up to 12 hours, prompting the airline to issue an apology.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The non-availability of enough pilots led to major delays and last-minute cancellations of IndiGo flights across its network on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The pilot shortage issue has emerged with the implementation of new flight duty time norms and the addition of flights in the winter schedule from November 1.
Major Delays
On Tuesday, 65 per cent of IndiGo’s flights were delayed — the highest among all major airlines. The disruption continued into Wednesday with cancellations and delays at all major airports. In Mumbai, there were 33 cancellations and 51 delays by Wednesday evening. In Bengaluru and Delhi, there were 62 and 42 flight cancellations, respectively.
IndiGo is the largest airline in India and carries two in every three domestic passengers. The airline operates over 2,200 flights daily, and the disruption hit the passengers hard.
“Originally, my flight from Delhi to Bengaluru was supposed to depart at 2.15 p.m., but it was rescheduled four times. Finally, I was put on a 5.10 p.m. flight. The IndiGo staff was not responsive and even the flight information display boards were not updated. Thus, customers were in the dark. I missed my meeting and the entire day was ruined,” Sharanya Kumar, a Bengaluru resident, complained.
Operational Headwinds
IndiGo said the disruption was a result of 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). All these had a negative compounding impact on operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated, it said.
“To contain the disruption and restore stability, we have initiated calibrated adjustments to our schedules. These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow us to normalise our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network. Our teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilise as quickly as possible. Furthermore, the affected customers are being offered alternate travel arrangements to reach their destinations or refunds, as applicable,” the airline added.
Forecast Error
According to aviation sources, IndiGo misjudged the number of pilots it would need to operate flights under the new duty time norms. “Perhaps IndiGo anticipated that the implementation would get deferred beyond November, but that did not happen,” a source said.
The new duty time norms came into effect in two phases after months of litigation and these provide more rest for pilots. Norms regarding night operations were implemented on November 1. The definition of night duty was changed and restrictions were imposed on the number of flights that a pilot can operate during night. While IndiGo has been granted certain relaxations, this has been criticised by pilots.
“In certain circumstances, the rules permit pilots to operate extra flights exceeding their duty time. However, pilots have to consent to that. In case they refuse, the airline has to search for an alternate crew and that causes delays. Also, because of the shortage, the rostering team has been requesting pilots to operate flights earlier than their original schedule. This is happening daily and leading to a domino effect. The problem is that schedules are tight and that there are not many buffers,” a senior pilot complained.
Published on December 3, 2025