India’s busiest airports were thrown into turmoil this week as IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, grappled with a third straight day of mass flight cancellations that left thousands of passengers stranded and its reputation for punctuality in tatters. The crisis, which unfolded most acutely on December 4, 2025, was triggered by new government regulations designed to combat pilot fatigue—rules that, according to industry groups and officials, IndiGo failed to adequately prepare for.
The numbers tell a story of mounting chaos. At least 175 IndiGo flights were cancelled as of early Thursday, with the tally rising to over 180 later in the day, according to figures reported by Reuters and other outlets. Major hubs including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bengaluru saw their terminals packed with frustrated travelers, many of whom endured hours-long waits with little information or support from airline staff. Bengaluru’s airport alone reported 73 cancellations, while Delhi faced 95—split almost evenly between arrivals and departures. Hyderabad and Mumbai were hit hard as well, with 68 and at least 85 cancellations respectively. The disruption, which began earlier in the week, saw at least 150 flights cancelled on Wednesday, December 3, and further delays expected to ripple into Friday.
For an airline that has built its brand on reliability—popularizing the term “IndiGo Standard Time” to boast of early boardings and on-time departures—the debacle marks a stunning reversal. IndiGo operates more than 2,000 flights daily and commands over 60% of India’s domestic market, making the scope of the crisis all the more significant. The airline’s shares reflected the turmoil, dropping 3.4% on Thursday and falling 6% for the week, as investors and passengers alike questioned its operational resilience.
The root of the meltdown lies in new flight duty time limitations (FDTL) imposed by India’s civil aviation regulator, effective November 1, 2025. These rules were designed to reduce pilot fatigue and enhance safety. They mandate a 12-hour increase in mandatory weekly rest for pilots—raising it to 48 hours—and sharply limit the number of night-time landings a pilot can make per week, down from six to just two. While the intent was to ensure safer skies, the implementation has proven to be a severe test for airlines’ scheduling systems.
IndiGo acknowledged that the stricter duty time limits were a major factor in the wave of cancellations, but offered little additional comment as the crisis deepened. In a statement issued Wednesday, the airline said it was making “calibrated adjustments” over the next 48 hours to stabilize operations, a tacit admission that full recovery could take several days. The Federation of Indian Pilots, however, was less forgiving, telling Reuters that IndiGo “was not able to make timely roster adjustments and plan its schedule properly” in anticipation of the new rules. The group’s criticism pointedly suggested that the airline had underestimated the scale of the operational changes required.
Other Indian carriers, including Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air, managed to avoid similar disruptions. This fact has only intensified scrutiny of IndiGo’s planning and preparedness. Air India, for its part, has been dealing with its own high-profile challenges, including a June 2025 crash that killed 260 people and brought renewed attention to airline safety standards. Yet, during this week’s regulatory shake-up, it was IndiGo that bore the brunt of the fallout.
Inside the country’s airports, the human cost of the crisis was on full display. Passengers described scenes of confusion and discomfort as they sought answers from overwhelmed staff. Ram Shankar Yadav, who was traveling with his family to attend his younger brother’s wedding, told Reuters by phone from Pune airport, “We don’t have enough chairs. People are taking newspapers to sit on the floor. People are angry. There’s nobody to manage; their helplines are not working.” Such scenes were echoed across social media, with images of crowded terminals and restless travelers capturing the scale of the disruption.
Some passengers endured even more acute frustrations. A Reuters photographer recounted being stuck inside an IndiGo plane for three hours after landing in Pune on Wednesday night. The pilot cited operational issues and said the aircraft could not dock until other planes had departed. For many, this was just one more indignity in a week filled with uncertainty and delays.
The timing of the crisis could not have been worse for IndiGo. The airline, now in its third decade, has prided itself on its operational discipline and has been a rare success story in India’s notoriously turbulent aviation sector. Last year, IndiGo posted $9 billion in revenue, underscoring its dominance in the market. But as the events of this week have shown, even the most robust reputations can unravel quickly when systems fail to adapt to new realities.
Industry experts say the revised FDTL norms were always going to be a challenge, particularly for airlines with large, complex networks. The new rules require not just longer pilot rest periods but also tighter limits on night flying, forcing carriers to reconfigure schedules, add buffer time, and potentially reduce the number of flights operated. For a company flying more than 2,000 routes daily, even minor miscalculations in roster planning can cascade into widespread disruption.
“For a carrier operating more than 2,000 domestic flights daily, even minor roster slippages can trigger system-wide delays,” noted the Federation of Indian Pilots. The group’s assessment was echoed by airport officials, who confirmed that the majority of cancellations were concentrated in the country’s largest metropolitan centers, amplifying the impact on business and leisure travelers alike.
As the week wore on, IndiGo urged customers to check real-time updates via its website and to monitor their flight status closely before heading to the airport. The airline’s statement on Wednesday made clear that further cancellations were likely through Friday, especially for passengers traveling from Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. For now, the best advice for travelers is to stay flexible and prepared for further disruption.
Officials from India’s civil aviation regulator were due to meet with IndiGo’s senior management on Thursday, seeking details about the root causes of the crisis and whether a viable recovery plan was in place. The regulator did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but industry watchers expect a thorough review of the airline’s preparedness and response.
As the dust settles, the episode stands as a stark reminder of the delicate balance between safety, operational efficiency, and customer service in the aviation industry. For IndiGo, the coming days will be a test not just of its ability to recover from logistical setbacks, but of its capacity to restore the trust of passengers who have come to expect nothing less than “IndiGo Standard Time.”
