What Sparked the IndiGo Flight Cancellations? Aviation Voices Give You Simplified Insights

Over the past weeks, India’s largest airline, IndiGo, saw an unexpected wave of operational disruptions that affected thousands of travellers across the country.

After days of flight cancellations and delays that left tens of thousands stranded at airports across India, the situation has started to stabilise. 

Flights are now returning to schedule with fewer last-minute cancellations, but it still begs a question: what sparked the mass chaos?

How did the trouble begin?

The first signs of strain appeared after 2 December, when cancellations began rising across major airports including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. By 5 December, cancellations climbed sharply, with airport teams working through rapid roster adjustments while handling large crowds of anxious travellers. 

On 5 December, as many as 1,600 flights were cancelled nationwide, with ground teams working through rapid roster changes and increasing passenger load. 

Early-December fog conditions in North India also contributed to initial delays, tightening the ripple effect across busy hubs like Delhi.

What triggered this crisis?

There is no single confirmed cause at this stage. Early assessments from aviation experts suggest that multiple factors may have converged, including the rollout of new pilot rest rules, crew availability constraints, internal scheduling challenges, and seasonal weather conditions.

Because other airlines did not report disruptions of this scale, IndiGo’s operations drew particular public and regulatory attention as authorities worked to understand why the impact appeared more concentrated here, mainly since it controls over 60% of total domestic flights. 

Aviation analysts also note that crew rostering systems worldwide are highly sensitive to sudden changes—meaning even small delays or regulation shifts can trigger cascading disruptions during peak travel periods.

Did new pilot rest rules play a bigger role than expected?

It is largely believed that the main reason behind the crisis is the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules introduced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). 

The ‘rest rules’ were designed to combat fatigue among pilots by increasing their mandated rest periods and restricting night flying.

Airlines were notified of the new FDTL norms in January 2024. They were finally implemented in two phases this year: the first phase in July, and the second phase from 1 November.

Reports indicate that aligning the airline’s winter schedule with the second-phase FDTL norms introduced operational complexity, especially as the new rules increased mandatory rest periods and set stricter limits on night flying.

Longer rest hours caused a pilot shortage, leaving more flights but fewer pilots to operate them.

Additionally, the high travel demand in December, driven by weddings and the holiday season, worsened the situation. 

What steps did the DGCA take once cancellations spiked?

The DGCA emphasised that IndiGo would need to stabilise operations promptly and issued a show-cause notice to understand the factors that led to the disruptions.

On 6 December, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo’s CEO, asking why action should not be taken in light of mass flight cancellations.

It placed two teams at IndiGo’s headquarters in Gurugram to oversee crew allocation, cancellations, and refunds. 

The airline was ordered to cut 10% of its planned flights on 9 December, arguing the move would balance crew supply with operational demand. 

On 12 December, the DGCA sacked four contractual flight operations inspectors for oversight lapses.

What are pilots and aviation experts saying about the crisis?

The Federation of Indian Pilots criticised IndiGo for not retaining or hiring enough pilots before the new regulations came into force, despite being given almost a two-year preparatory window. 

The Federation argued that the airline had “inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze, entered non‑poaching arrangements, [and] maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour…”

Interestingly, on December 5, IndiGo issued a recruitment call for captains and senior first officers (type-rated) for its Airbus A320 fleet.

Aviation safety expert Captain Amit Singh attributed the situation to what he described as ‘“wilful negligence” as winter schedules are planned months in advance.

Some IndiGo pilots, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not assigned duties despite being available under the new FDTL rules. These accounts suggest that communication gaps within scheduling processes may have contributed to the wider disruption

What is IndiGo’s official explanation for the chaos?

IndiGo Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta issued a public apology on 10 December. Mehta rejected all allegations that the crisis was engineered to coax the government into relaxing flight rules.

“IndiGo has followed the pilot fatigue rules as they came into effect. We operated under the new rules throughout, both in July and in November. We did not attempt to bypass them,” he said.

He attributed the operational collapse to a combination of factors: winter schedule changes, technical issues, bad weather, aviation congestion, and the implementation of FDTL norms. 

The chairman emphasised the commitment to solving the issue as a priority, identifying root causes, and preventing future disruptions.

While IndiGo flights are returning to their normal schedule and the worst is over, it will take some time before an official inquiry provides a clearer picture of how multiple factors combined to create a disruption of this scale.

What does this mean for travellers right now?

Under DGCA’s Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), passengers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to:

• A full refund or free rebooking on another flight
  

• Meals, if delays cross the specified time threshold
  

• Accommodation, if stranded overnight due to airline-controlled delays
  

Travellers are encouraged to check their airline’s official channels for real-time updates and to request written documentation of cancellations whenever possible.

Sources

‘IndiGo Faces Backlash Over 4,600 Cancellations Stranding Lakhs; Chairman Apologises, DGCA Orders Cuts, Board Investigates Deeply’: by Chhavi Chandani for The Logical Indian, Published on 11 December 2025

‘IndiGo chaos: Why is India’s largest airline cancelling hundreds of flights?’: by Priyanka Shankar and News Agencies for Al Jazeera, Published on 7 December 2025

‘DGCA issues show‑cause notice to IndiGo CEO over widespread flight disruptions’: by The New Indian Express, Published on 6 December 2025

‘India orders crisis‑hit IndiGo to cut flights by 5%’: by Abhijith Ganapavaram for Reuters, Published on 9 December 2025

‘IndiGo chairman denies airline engineered flight crisis’: by Aditi for The Financial Express, Published on 11 December 2025

‘IndiGo Flight Cancellations: Airport Chaos in Delhi, Mumbai,  by Shweta Sharma for The Independent, Published on 7 December 2025

‘We Were Ready to Fly But Were Not Assigned Any Duty’: by Mumbai Mirror, Published on 5 December 2025.

‘IndiGo hiring: Budget carrier lifts recruitment freeze as cancellations persist, invites applications from pilots’: by Swastika Das Sharma for Live Mint, Published on 7 December 2025.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com