Aviation Chaos Continues As IndiGo Cancels All Domestic Flights From Delhi Airport; Government Intervenes On Fare Control Amid Major Price Hike

New Delhi: Chaotic scenes continued at airports across India as one of the country's biggest airlines IndiGo battled with operational issues leading to over 500 flight cancellations. 

Out of over 500 cancellations, Delhi Airport issued a passenger advisory confirming all domestic flights from Delhi have been cancelled until midnight on Friday. Earlier, Delhi Airport confirmed that 225 Indigo flights, comprising both arrivals and departures, have been cancelled since the morning from the capital's hub, impacting a significant number of travellers. 

Chaos ensued at Mumbai airports as all flights were cancelled till 6pm on Friday. Since morning, over 100 IndiGo flights had been cancelled in the financial capital, as per reports.

IndiGo's operational disruptions continued for the fourth straight day where all departing flights from Chennai were also cancelled till Friday 6pm.

Crisis also gripped Bengaluru airport as it saw 100 flight cancellations, 75 flights were cancelled at Hyderabad, 35 at Kolkata, 26 at Chennai, and 11 at Goa. Srinagar airport also saw major flight cancellations as 9 flights were cancelled on Friday.

Amid the ongoing airline operational disruptions affecting flight schedules nationwide, a total of 16 IndiGo arrival flights and 16 IndiGo departure flights were cancelled at Pune, while one NAG-PNQ flight was diverted to Hyderabad due to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). Operations of all other airlines remained unaffected, and they were accommodated without any disruptions.

IndiGo seeks exemptions 

IndiGo, which is experiencing operational disruptions and cancellations, has sought temporary operational exemptions from certain Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) provisions for its A320 fleet until February 10, 2026, and assured that operational stability will be restored by that date, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.

Following a detailed review meeting under the chairmanship of the DGCA with the senior leadership of IndiGo on Thursday, the regulator said, "To reduce passenger inconvenience while maintaining safety margins, IndiGo has requested operational variations or exemptions from specific FDTL provisions for A320 operations up to February 10, 2026. IndiGo has assured DGCA that corrective actions are underway and that normalised and stable operations will be fully restored by February 10, 2026."

IndiGo issues apology

Grappling with widespread flight disruptions over the past few days, IndiGo on Thursday issued a "heartfelt apology" to customers and the airline said, "remains focussed on streamlining its operations at the earliest."

"We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events. IndiGo teams are working diligently and making all efforts with the support of MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI and airport operators to reduce the cascading impact of these delays and restore normalcy," IndiGo said in a statement posted on X.

Major spike in Airline fares

Amid the ongoing IndiGo fiasco, the airline fares sky-rocketed as over 500 flights were cancelled across major airports across the country. Chaotic and angry scenes were seen at several airports with flyers sloganeering against the airlines following disruptions. 

Flights from New Delhi to Mumbai on December 5 were priced as high as ₹28,534, while the lowest fare stood at ₹27,602.

The fare for one way flight from Bengaluru-Delhi was priced as high as Rs. 44516, as on December 5. The cheapest fare stood at Rs. 26,561.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Thursday held a high-level meeting to review the situation and directed the airline to urgently normalise operations as well as ensure airfares do not rise due to the current issues. During the meeting, Naidu expressed clear displeasure  and directed IndiGo to normalise operations and asked the airline to not increase airfares owing to the current chaos.

The airline has also been instructed to  inform passengers of any likely cancellations well in advance and to ensure that all necessary facilities, including hotel accommodation where required, are provided promptly to minimise inconvenience.

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