Flight operations across India remained severely disrupted for a sixth consecutive day, with IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, still battling to bring its schedule under control. Despite assurances of progress, the carrier continued to cancel a significant number of flights on Sunday.
IndiGo confirmed that 650 flights were cancelled out of the 2,300 it typically operates each day. This came barely 24 hours after the airline said it had restored over 95% of its network connectivity. On Sunday, the airline planned to operate 1,630 flights, a slight improvement from the 1,500 it managed by the end of Saturday. The crisis peaked on Friday, when more than 1,000 flights were cancelled, the worst day so far, followed by about 850 cancellations on Saturday.
In a statement reviewed by HT, the airline said, “IndiGo confirms that we are establishing further significant and sustained improvements across our network. The first step to this was taken yesterday, today next steps have been taken on this with fewer cancellations and a higher On Time Performance.”
Authorities have intensified their interventions. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA have introduced several measures, including fare caps, a show-cause notice to IndiGo for the “massive disruptions”, and new directives concerning refunds and baggage handling.
With the turmoil likely to last until 10 December, here are the key developments:
1. 1,650 flights to operate today: IndiGo said it expects to run more than 1,650 flights on 7 December, targeting an on-time performance of around 75%, a substantial recovery from the historic low of 8.5% recorded on Friday.
2. Refund deadline: The airline noted that refund processing and luggage recovery are “in full action” for both direct and third-party bookings. The Ministry has instructed IndiGo to clear all pending refunds by Sunday evening.
3. Crisis Management Group formed: Interglobe Aviation, IndiGo’s parent company, has constituted a Crisis Management Group to oversee the situation and support customers facing disruptions.
4. Mumbai cancellations: At Mumbai airport, at least 112 IndiGo flights had been cancelled by midday on Sunday. In total, around 146 flights were cancelled at the airport during the day.
5. Delhi cancellations: At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, 109 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Sunday, an improvement from Saturday’s 150.
6. Government response: Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, said the government is monitoring the crisis closely and has acted against IndiGo for failing to comply with Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). He stated that the issue is being taken “very seriously” and further action will follow once the investigation committee submits its report, according to ANI.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
