IndiGo Expects Under 1,000 Cancellations Tomorrow; Full Flight Schedule Back by Dec 15

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology on Friday evening after the airline cancelled more than a thousand flights — its worst single day of disruption.

Elbers said the carrier was forced to cancel “more than half” of its daily operations, making Friday the “most severely impacted day.” While disruptions will continue on Saturday, IndiGo expects fewer than 1,000 cancellations.

The CEO said full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though the recovery will be gradual due to the airline’s size. IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights every day.

Elbers attributed the crisis to several factors, including new flight duty rules that extend pilots’ weekly rest requirements from 36 to 48 hours and reduce the number of night landings allowed per week from six to two. He acknowledged that “misjudgment and planning gaps” worsened the situation.

To address the crisis, Elbers outlined three key steps:
1. Enhanced communication: IndiGo has issued detailed advisories on refunds, cancellations and support measures, and increased call-centre capacity.

2. Clearing stranded passengers: The airline prioritised helping passengers stuck at major airports and urged customers with cancelled flights not to come to the airport unnecessarily.

3. System reset: IndiGo made extensive cancellations on Friday to realign aircraft and crew for a more stable schedule from Saturday. Earlier measures, Elbers admitted, “were not enough,” prompting a complete reboot of operations.

As chaotic scenes played out at airports, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo temporary exemptions from the new night-duty limits for pilots and allowed converting leave into weekly rest to ease rostering pressures.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a high-level inquiry will be launched and that accountability will be fixed.