&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Indigo flight disruptions: Crew shortage behind air chaos? DGCA launches probe")
On Wednesday (Dec 3) over 150 IndiGo flights were cancelled across India causing immense passenger inconvenience. The massive disruption was attributed by IndiGo to a mix of "technical glitches and operational challenges." The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that is probing the incident has asked the airline to provide a detailed explanation for the situation.
More flight cancelations expected today, crew shortage major reason
One of the major factors that has come to light for the massive disruption is crew shortage, particularly pilots, following the introduction of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms. In November, the DGCA mandated more rest hours for pilots under new FDTL rule and asked airlines to make more and humane rosters.
Following the disruption, the airlines issued an apology for the inconvenience and said it had made "calibrated adjustments" to its flight schedules for the next 48 hours to restore normal operations. However, there are reports of over 170 IndiGo flights likely to be cancelled on Thursday too.
Notably, IndiGo had already cancelled 1,232 flights in November, with 755 of those cancellations related to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL).
What we know so far about flight delays?
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On Wednesday, IndiGo saw significant cancellations: around 67 flights were grounded from Delhi, 42 from Bengaluru, 19 from Hyderabad, and 32 from Mumbai. Affected passengers faced delays across multiple airports. Other airlines, including Akasa Air, Air India, and SpiceJet, also reported delays due to a temporary outage in the Amadeus check-in system on Tuesday night.
What IndiGo said about the issue?
IndiGo explained that the recent disruptions stemmed from a variety of factors, including minor technical glitches, schedule adjustments related to the winter season, bad weather, and congestion in the aviation sector. It further cited FDTL regulations as contributing to the flight issues, which led to an unanticipated compounding effect on the airline’s operations. To stabilise the situation, IndiGo implemented temporary changes to its flight schedules, which will remain in place for the next two days as the airline works to normalise its operations.
