Travel Chaos as Indias Largest Airline Cancels Over 1,200 Flights
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Passengers in turmoil! IndiGo, India's largest low-cost airline, has canceled over 1,200 flights across the country, leaving thousands stranded at airports.
Airports across India were thrown into chaos on Thursday (4 Dec) after IndiGo, the country's largest low-cost airline, announced the cancellation of more than 1,200 flights, resulting in thousands of passengers stranded nationwide. Meanwhile, India's aviation regulator is swiftly investigating this disruption.
The turmoil began on Monday and has continued since. Many passengers posted on X describing the scene as full-scale chaos, with some waiting up to eight hours, claiming there was no staff available to assist or provide information.
IndiGo data shows that 1,232 flights were canceled by Wednesday, while the number of delayed flights remains unclear. IndiGo explained that the disruptions were caused by sudden technical issues, unfavorable weather, and problems related to a new staff scheduling regulation implemented last month. This regulation requires the airline to increase rest time for pilots and crew to enhance flight safety, but IndiGo acknowledged that it has had a worsening complex impact, significantly damaging the airline's operations. The airline said it is working urgently to resolve the issues by arranging replacement flights, issuing refunds, and restoring normal schedules as soon as possible.
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an immediate investigation and ordered IndiGo to submit a management plan to resolve the ongoing situation that began earlier this week.
This disruption is another blow to IndiGo's reputation for punctuality, a quality that has normally earned high passenger trust.
Just a week earlier, over 200 IndiGo aircraft were affected after Airbus issued an urgent directive for more than 6,000 planes worldwide to update their systems promptly.
India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets, with passenger volume reaching a record 500,000 per day last month. This has made widespread delays and cancellations more impactful than before. IndiGo's chaos is closely watched as it holds the largest market share in the country.
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