IndiGo Flight Cancellations Skyrocket To 1,200 In November; DGCA Seeks Explanation

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., which is India's largest airline in terms of market share, cancelled over 1,200 flights in November, according to a press note issued on Wednesday.

The cancellations were primarily linked to the constraints related to crew and flight duty-time limitation, or FLTD norms, which were rolled out last month.

Out of 1,232 cancelled flights, 755 were linked to crew and FLTD constraints, as per the press note. The second-most common reason was airport/airspace restrictions, with 250 flights cancelled due to this.

About 127 flights were cancelled due to other miscellaneous reasons, and 92 flights were cancelled because of air traffic control system failure.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is currently investigating the situation and "evaluating measures" along with the airline, to reduce cancellations and delays, in order to minimise inconvenience being caused to passengers.

The aviation regulator has also sought an explanation from the airline. "IndiGo has been asked to report to DGCA, headquarters, to present the facts leading to the current situation along with plans to mitigate the ongoing delays and cancellations," the note stated.

The overall on-time performance for the airline in November was 67.70% in comparison to October's 84.1%. Air traffic control made up for 16% of the delays, with operations and crew making up 6%, airport facility issues was the reason 3% of the time and other factors causing the delay consisted of 8%.

IndiGo reported that it would be strengthening crew planning and rostering while adhering to FDTL norms as a part of their corrective measures.

Enhancing coordination with ATC and airports to manage capacity constraints. and Improving turnaround as well as disruption-management processes, were the other measures listed in the press note.

IndiGo had cancelled around 200 flights across Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru in the recent period. The airline cited unforeseen problems stemming from weather and tech infrastructure related roadblocks, along with the new FDTL norms as the reason for the cancellations.