Railways Step In As IndiGo Flight Chaos Leave Passengers Stranded In Delhi
Extra coaches have been added in Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani, Dibrugarh-Delhi Rajdhani, Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi and Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi trains.
The railways will add extra coaches on trains to and from Delhi amid the IndiGo disruption that has stranded hundreds of people across Indian airports. The Northern Railways has added coaches for passenger convenience, a spokesperson said on Friday.
An extra third AC (3A) coach have been added in Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani and Dibrugarh-Delhi Rajdhani trains. An extra chair car coach have been in Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi and Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi trains.
"Further arrangements are under planning," the spokesperson said.
Details regarding train timings and ticket booking window is expected to be released on the X handle of railways.
Earlier in the day, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation withdrew instructions regarding published weekly rest. This means that the airlines will now be able to use leave in place of weekly rest if required.
This comes as flight disruptions continued for the fourth straight day, with nationwide cancellations crossing 500 flights as IndiGo operator Interglobe Aviation Ltd. struggles to adjust to the government’s stricter crew safety and flight duty-time limitation norms.
The airlines had given representations to DGCA on the instructions for the weekly rest instructions. They had highlighted operational disruptions and the need for continuity and stability in flying schedules.
DGCA has now decided the earlier restriction was affecting operations, the aviation body said in its notice to all operators.
IndiGo apologised to customers for the crisis, saying it is rebooting all systems and schedules for "progressive improvement" starting Saturday.
Meanwhile, spot ticket prices across major flight routes in India have skyrocketed, as IndiGo continues to grapple with major disruptions, leading to delays and cancellations.
The same-day flight cost of popular routes, including Delhi to Mumbai, has risen as far as Rs 50,000, even for airlines that are not impacted by the disruption, such as Air India and Akasa Air.
IndiGo, which operates over 250 flights from Delhi, has cancelled all flights from the airport till midnight.
