Lakhs of passengers of India’s largest airline Indigo are facing flight delays and cancellations, the main reason for which is the shortage of pilots. After more than 100 flights being canceled every day for the last 4-5 days, more than 200 flights were canceled on Wednesday. On Wednesday, some flights were delayed by up to 10 hours. DGCA has sought clarification from the airline in this entire matter. The airline’s on-time operations on Tuesday (December 2), at 35 per cent, were the lowest among all scheduled airlines in India, according to government data. Due to this problem, there has been a tremendous increase in the fares of domestic flights in the country. The fare from Delhi to Mumbai has reached Rs 31 thousand. Let us also tell you what is the whole matter?
DGCA in action mode
The passengers of the company which provides air travel facilities to one million passengers every three days are very upset. Due to public inconvenience and anger on social media, aviation officials have also come into action mode. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday sought clarification from the senior management of the airline in this entire matter. They have also been asked to bring a plan so that this problem can be eliminated. An official said the DGCA is investigating the situation and is working with the airlines to evaluate measures to minimize cancellations and delays so as to minimize inconvenience to passengers.
See also – More than 100 Indigo flights canceled at 8 airports of 38 countries, 42 in Bengaluru and 38 in Delhi.
Indications were received since November itself
Indigo has started some measures like reduction in flights on Wednesday evening. The airline said that these measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will help us normalize our operations and gradually restore our punctuality across the network. The airline admitted that operations across the network have been significantly disrupted for the last two days. Of the 1,232 flights canceled by IndiGo in November, about 62 percent were canceled due to crew shortage.
Following serious complaints of fatigue by cockpit crew of Indian airlines, the DGCA had imposed more humane crew flight duty norms from November 1. Although this increased the need for pilots, the 62 percent cancellation data indicates that IndiGo is now struggling on this front. IndiGo’s OTP fell from 84.1 percent in October 2025 to 67.7 percent last month.
See also – Hundreds of IndiGo flights canceled due to staff problems, not due to any rule, claims pilots’ organization FIP
Rent skyrocketed
Due to reduction in Indigo flights and uncertainty regarding OTP, fares have skyrocketed. One-way (nonstop) Delhi-Bengaluru economy class tickets for Friday and Saturday (December 5 and 6) ranged between Rs 11,000 and Rs 43,145. Similarly, the Mumbai-Kolkata fare ranged between Rs 8,000 and Rs 19,000. On the other hand, fares in Delhi and Mumbai were seen ranging between Rs 18 thousand to Rs 31 thousand.