IndiGo Cancels 73 Bengaluru Flights Today, Thousands Stranded Nationwide

The Bengaluru airport authorities informed Reuters that IndiGo Airlines canceled 73 flights from the city on Thursday, thus putting thousands of customers in a situation of getting their flights delayed or canceled airport officials reported. More than 100 flights were affected on Wednesday leading to long queues and chaos at several of India's largest airports.

As a consequence, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has opened an inquiry into the ongoing disturbances. The aviation authority has called IndiGo to supply an extensive justification for the cancellations of the flights and also to report how it will go about returning to normal operations and thus, lessening delays.

IndiGo in November recorded a total of 1,232 canceled flights with the reasons being: crew shortages, restrictions by air traffic control, and operational difficulties. The statistics given by the Civil Aviation Ministry show that the airline's on-time performance dropped drastically to 67.7% in November from 84.1% in October.

IndiGo, through a spokesperson, confirmed the disruption by saying the airline’s network had been “significantly impacted” during the last two days. The company further mentioned that it has taken “calibrated schedule adjustments” for the coming 48 hours to keep operations stable and slowly increase on-time performance. The airline has teams helping passengers with their alternate arrangements or refunds while the services are being restored.

Passengers at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport complained about very long waiting times and the absence of proper communication from the airline. A few travelers even decided to go back home after waiting for six to seven hours, while others stayed at the terminal. Meanwhile, the travel agents mentioned that the food and water supplied to the affected passengers was not sufficient.

The disturbances in operations have had a wide-ranging impact on a number of routes, including flights to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Patna, and Goa. To be precise, the airport in Kolkata had to cancel as many as 10 flights on account of a shortage of crew and other operational problems. On top of that, delays of various durations affected 85 flights at different airports.

The experts attribute the disturbances mainly to the new FDTL rules. The new rules, which are aimed at preventing pilot fatigue, will impose an extended bed rest, less night flying and also the restriction of crew availability.

Travelers in Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad were very upset about the cancellations that were quite suddenly made, the delays that went on for a long time, and the lack of communication. Some passengers were left behind for their international connections, while others had to sleep in the airport without getting any assistance.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) has instructed IndiGo to make better crew management, coordination with ATC and the airport authorities and the disruption-handling processes much more efficient. Despite the fact that many operational difficulties are not directly under the control of the airline, the regulator is still hoping for rapid corrective action to be taken in order to minimize the future flight disruptions.

IndiGo continues to be the leading airline in India operating mainly on a low-cost basis and has requested the passengers to check the latest flight information and contact the customer service department for any help.