Pilot shortage is one reason :::: 550 IndiGo flights cancelled, airline apologises for widespread disruption :::: "We continue to keep our customers apprised of any changes"

 550 IndiGo flights cancelled, airline apologises for widespread disruption

"An accumulation of several operational challenges, including minor technology glitches, schedule changes, adverse weather conditions, heightened congestion in the aviation ecosystem, and the implementation of the FDTL norms, compounded negatively to create a cascading impact on our operations," wrote Indigo CEO in an internal email. 

That went viral !!

IndiGo, one of the largest carriers in the country, is grappling with significant operational disruptions in the past few days, and about 300 flights were cancelled on Thursday alone. 

Scores of flights were delayed. 

In November, the airline witnessed the cancellation of 1,232 flights and severe delays in many flights.

The operational inconvenience continues for one of the premium Indian carriers, IndiGo, as 550 flights were cancelled on Thursday, Dec 4.  

The operational inconvenience continues for India's one of the premium carriers, IndiGo, as the airline witnessed cancellations of 550 flights across the nation on Thursday. Of the total flights, at least 191 flights were cancelled in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad, leading to chaos at the airports. The carrier has issued a statement on the ongoing crisis.

"The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. 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. 

We continue to keep our customers apprised of any changes to their scheduled flights and advise them to check the latest status," IndiGo said.

Following the drop in performance, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) decided to launch a probe. It asked the airline to cite reasons behind the drastic decline in operations.  

The civil aviation body asked the airline to cite appropriate reasons behind the rapid flight cancellations and the delays that occurred throughout the month of November.

In response to that, the carrier referred to a number of reasons, including staff shortage, failure in Air Traffic Control (ATC), and others behind the cancellations and drop in performance.  

"Out of those 1,232 flights, 755 were cancelled because of staff shortages, 92 were cancelled due to the failure of Air Traffic Control (ATC), 258 were cancelled due to airport restrictions, and 127 were cancelled for other reasons," the airlines noted. The aviation body suggested a handful of key measures, including hiring more crews and others to improve the services.

The rapid inconvenience resulted in massive crowd dissatisfaction among passengers who shared their experience on social media.

Meanwhile, the CEO of IndiGo, Pieter Elbert, shared an apology note in an internal email, shared with the employees. He mentioned the reasons behind the operational delays and cancellations. The email went viral on social media.

"We serve close to 380,000 customers a day and want each of them to have a good experience. We could not live up to that promise these past days, and we have publicly apologised for that," he said.  

IndiGo is likely to receive a partial waiver from the DGCA on new pilot rest-duty norms after a severe operational meltdown forced over a thousand flight cancellations. 

The second phase of the rules, effective from November, limits night landings and significantly increased crew requirements. 

IndiGo, which failed to plan for the transition, is now facing a pilot shortage due to inadequate hiring and delayed training.

ends