IndiGo Flights Disruption: What Caused the Breakdown?

India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, is battling one of its worst operational crises in recent memory as a massive IndiGo flight disruption unfolded across Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at major airports nationwide. More than 200 flights were cancelled, hundreds were delayed, and on-time performance spiralled to just 35 per cent — a rare collapse for an airline known for punctuality.

Long queues spilled across terminals in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad as frustration mounted among passengers facing last-minute delays, sudden cancellations and chaotic rebooking counters. Aviation experts say the failure was not triggered by a single issue but by a perfect storm of compounding operational stress points.

Why the IndiGo Flight Disruption Happened: A Breakdown of the Causes

1. Acute Crew Shortage After New Duty-Time Rules

IndiGo has been struggling with a severe pilot and cabin crew shortage since stricter Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules kicked in on November 1.

The new norms sharply cut the number of flying hours allowed per day, week and month, while increasing mandatory rest periods. As a result, several aircraft remained grounded because no rostered crew was legally eligible to operate them.

Aviation insiders revealed that entire rotations had to be cancelled when pilots scheduled for earlier flights exceeded duty limits and could no longer be reassigned. The airline, which operates more than 2,200 flights a day, simply did not have enough crew in reserve to plug the sudden gaps.

2. New FDTL Roster Rules Disrupted Scheduling

The latest phase of India’s FDTL rules is intended to enhance safety by reducing fatigue, but it has forced airlines to overhaul crew planning from scratch.

For IndiGo, the impact was sharper due to its massive, complex network.

Key changes included:

• Longer weekly rest requirements

• A reduction in permitted night landings (from six to just two)

• Sharper caps on duty hours:

  • 8 hours/day

  • 35 hours/week

  • 125 hours/month

  • 1,000 hours/year

• Mandatory rest periods equal to twice the duty period

IndiGo’s scheduling software and manual rostering teams struggled to stabilise these new requirements in time. With so many night flights and short turnarounds, even minor mismatches created major crew gaps across high-density routes.

3. Technical Glitches at Major Airports Added Fuel to the Fire

The situation worsened on Tuesday when airports in Delhi, Pune and a few other metros reported failures in their check-in and departure control systems.

These technology breakdowns slowed down passenger processing, delayed aircraft pushbacks and disrupted tightly connected flight chains. In a network as dense as IndiGo’s, the ripple effect was immediate and widespread.

4. Heavy Airport Congestion and Winter Stress

Winter fog, peak-hour congestion and record passenger footfall combined to choke airport operations during the crisis period.

IndiGo’s tightly packed schedule leaves little room for recovery once delays begin. A 20-minute hold in Delhi or Mumbai rapidly cascades into missed slots, longer queues and chained delays across the country — which is exactly what happened.

Government data showed that more than 1,400 IndiGo flights faced delays on Tuesday alone. DGCA numbers also revealed that 1,232 flights were cancelled in November — one of the highest monthly cancellations in recent years.

Why Other Airlines Did Not Suffer the Same Level of Disruption

While the FDTL rules apply to all carriers, IndiGo was uniquely vulnerable due to structural factors:

1. Its Massive Scale

IndiGo operates the majority of India’s domestic flights. A small operational shock in its system becomes a national ripple.

2. Heavy Dependence on Night-Time Operations

With one of the largest overnight flight networks in Asia, the new cap on night landings hit IndiGo disproportionately.

3. Tight Crew Utilisation Model

IndiGo’s efficiency-driven model depends on maximising crew hours. Once limits tightened, shortages surfaced almost instantly.

4. Limited Flexibility to Realign Networks

Smaller airlines such as Akasa or Vistara could quickly shuffle their fleets and crews. IndiGo’s complex web of 2,200+ daily flights left little room for rapid correction.

When Will the IndiGo Flight Disruption Ease?

IndiGo has said that it expects “calibrated adjustments” to stabilise operations within 48 hours. The airline is:

• Redeploying crew to stress-heavy routes

• Reducing select night-time operations

• Conducting pre-planned cancellations rather than sudden ones

• Reworking aircraft rotations to rebuild buffer capacity

The airline has urged passengers to monitor their flight status frequently and prepare for continued delays during recovery.

In its official statement, IndiGo said:

“We sincerely apologise to our customers… A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges, including minor technology glitches, winter-related schedule changes, congestion in the aviation system and updated crew rostering rules, had a negative compounding impact on our operations.”