IndiGo says flight operations will stabilise by February 10, seeks relief from new duty-time norms

IndiGo told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday that it expects its operations to return to normal only by February 10 and has sought temporary exemptions from parts of the stricter flight duty-time norms amid severe disruptions and widespread cancellations, Reuters reported.

The airline also said it will begin reducing its flight schedule from Monday to stabilise operations until then, The Indian Express reported.

“The disruptions have arisen primarily from misjudgement and planning gaps in implementing Phase 2 of the (Flight Duty Time Limitations), with the airline accepting that the actual crew requirement exceeded their anticipation,” the aviation regulator said on Thursday after speaking with airline officials.

IndiGo told the regulator that its Airbus A320 fleet requires 2,422 captains and 2,153 first officers to maintain stable operations, compared with its current 2,357 captains and 2,194 first officers, The Indian Express reported.

On Thursday alone, at least 550 IndiGo flights were cancelled while hundreds more were delayed.

The airline’s on-time performance, which is expected to be at least 80%, fell to 35% on Tuesday and dropped further to 19.7% for much of Wednesday, The Telegraph reported.

Major airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata and Lucknow experienced long queues, overcrowding and staff shortages, with passengers reporting last-minute cancellations and limited communication from airline staff.

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