IndiGo flight chaos: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and 4 other cities worst hit as cancellations cross 470 on Day 5

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has now officially entered its fifth consecutive day of widespread flight cancellations and delays on Saturday, 6 December, causing significant disruption to domestic travel. Thousands of passengers have been affected and are facing extended wait times, last-minute schedule changes along with the rising travel costs from other airlines. The airline attributed this disruption to an unexpected shortage of pilots, stemming from planning deficiencies. Although recovering, the crisis seems far over, with early indicators suggesting that normal operations may take several more days to stabilise.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has today, instructed that IndiGo should clear all pending passenger refunds by 8:00 PM on Sunday, December 7, 2025. It has also warned that any delay or non-compliance with the direction will result in immediate regulatory action against the airlines. In a separate statement earlier, the centre also announced capping of airfares to control the surge in airline ticket prices following the IndiGo fiasco. To manage the surge in demand following the flight disruption, the Indian Railways has announced the introduction 116 additional coaches across its 37 premium trains, supporting 114 enhanced trips nationwide.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Airport stated that operations are ‘steadily resuming’, though some flights still remain affected. Given IndiGo’s scale, operating 2,300 flights daily with a fleet exceeding 400 aircraft, the cascading impact on major airports was substantial.

Hyderabad saw the highest impact of this disruption today, with 70 arrivals and 74 departures cancelled, a totl of 144 cancellation. The scale of disruption indicates significant strain on crew availability and aircraft rotation. Passengers at the airport continued to report long queues, rebooked schedules and limited alternative options.

Mumbai remained the second worst hit, recording 117 total cancellations today (54 arrivals and 63 departures). Several videos surfacing on social media shows travellers disappointment due to last-minute schedule changes and long waiting hours across terminals.

The national capital continued to remain the one of the worst affected hubs in the network, with recording 106 cancellations today. Although the airport authority said operations were ‘steadily resuming’, residual delays continued to impact passenger movement. Large crowds were reported at the terminals as passengers attempted rebooking, while airlines struggled to match capacity with available crew.

Chennai saw 48 cancellations, with ripple effects from pilot shortages affecting both morning and late-evening services. Flyers reported difficulties in finding immediate alternatives, particularly on high-demand metro routes.

Pune experienced 42 cancellations, causing long queues at the IndiGo counters from early morning. Frequent travellers complained these disruptions particularly affected business schedules and inter-city links.

Ahmedabad logged 19 cancellations, and although the number was lower than the other metros, these delays affected several connecting flights. Passengers reported uncertainty around revised timings as the airline worked to reshuffle crew across sectors.

Thiruvananthapuram was comparatively less affected, registering a total of 3 cancellations toay.