Travel chaos as IndiGo airline cancels hundreds of flights

Chaos gripped Indian airports on Thursday after the country’s biggest airline IndiGo cancelled over 1,200 flights, stranding thousands of passengers.

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Thousands of IndiGo passengers were stranded by flight cancellations on Thursday - a third day of chaos after India’s biggest airline did not make sufficient changes to its roster planning to accommodate new government regulations.

The company blamed the disruption on “unforeseen operational challenges” including technical glitches, adverse weather conditions and new rules for workers.

The Federation of Indian Pilots said IndiGo was not able to make timely roster adjustments and plan its schedule properly due to new rules aimed at improving safety.

India’s aviation watchdog ordered an investigation and demanded that IndiGo respond with plans to ease the interruptions, which have persisted since Monday.

IndiGo has told India’s aviation regulator that its operations will be fully restored by Feb. 10, and has asked for relief from some provisions that limit pilot duty after it cancelled hundreds of flights this week due to a shortage of aviators.

Passengers vented their anger online, with one airport user on X describing “complete mayhem” with delays of up to eight hours and “no staff” on hand to help. The airline has been reeling under a wave of cancellations and delays, with more than 300 flights cancelled on Thursday alone and many others running late through the day.