IndiGo cancels 300+ flights in 3 days—here's what's up
IndiGo, India's biggest airline, has had a rough week—over 300 flights got canceled in just two days, with major airports like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad hit hard.
The main reason? IndiGo failed to adequately update its crew schedules before new pilot rest rules kicked in on November 1.
These rules mean pilots need more downtime and can't fly as many late-night routes.
What went wrong behind the scenes?
While other airlines provisioned pilots adequately and planned ahead to handle the change, IndiGo froze hiring—even though they had two years to get ready.
That decision led to a big drop in on-time flights (down to just 35% from their usual 80%+).
Technical issues and even Cyclone Ditwah made things worse, but the real problem was not having enough pilots.
What happens next?
Aviation officials are now telling IndiGo to fix its crew planning ASAP.
Industry experts say airlines should only get flight approvals if they actually have enough pilots for the new rules—so this kind of chaos doesn't happen again.