On Saturday, hundreds of domestic flights of IndiGo were cancelled across India. 

In view of the surge in passenger demand following widespread flight cancellations, the Indian Railways has deployed 116 additional coaches in 37 premium trains operating over 114 enhanced trips across the country.

A press statement from the Railway Ministry said that the Southern Railway (SR) has carried out the highest number of augmentations, enhancing capacity in 18 trains. Read more

"...We have formed a committee which will inquire into all this so that they can establish where things went wrong and who did it wrong. We are going to take necessary action on that also. This thing shouldn't be left unattended. We are taking strict action on this, so that whoever was responsible into this needs to pay for it," Civil Aviation Minister Naidu told the news agency ANI. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that the immediate priority of the Centre is to bring back normalcy and provide all the support to the passengers affected by the delay and cancellation of IndiGo's domestic flights. 

Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi issued a passenger advisory, assuring that IndiGo flight operations are now "steadily resuming" after the airline fiasco that saw over 1,000 flights cancelled on Friday. Read more

Simon Wong, Singapore's High Commissioner to India, was unable to attend his staff's wedding as his IndiGo flight from Delhi to Deogarh got cancelled. He attended the wedding online.

With IndiGo facing massive delay and cancellation of its domestic flights, SpiceJet has increased its Delhi departures for Saturday.

Central Railway on Friday announced it will run six special trains on key long-distance routes on December 6 and 7 to clear the extra rush of passengers due to widespread flight cancellations across the country.

CR chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila said the special services will operate on Pune-SMVT Bengaluru (Dec 6), Pune-New Delhi (Dec 7), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Madgaon (Dec 7), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-New Delhi (Dec 6), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Lucknow (Dec 6) and Nagpur-CSMT (Dec 6) routes to clear extra rush of passengers.

At the national level, Indian Railways has announced to augment a total of 37 trains with 116 additional coaches, operating over 114 augmented trips across the network to meet the travel demand.

In what will be music to the ears of passengers hit hard by the IndiGo disruptions, the Centre has said flight schedules are expected to stabilise by Saturday and a return to normalcy is likely to be achieved within three days, which would be Monday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday ordered the constitution of a high-level, four-member committee to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to widespread operational disruptions at IndiGo Airlines in recent days.

According to an official order, the DGCA noted that IndiGo failed to adequately prepare for the implementation of revised Duty Period, Flight Duty Period, Flight Time Limitations, and Prescribed Rest Periods under the FDTL CAR 2024.

These norms, phased in after a Delhi High Court ruling earlier this year, required airlines to strengthen manpower planning and roster restructuring, and to ensure a seamless transition to the new fatigue-management framework.

Airfares reached levels never seen before on Friday, with a one-way one-stop economy-class SpiceJet Kolkata-Mumbai flight ticket for December 6 costing up to Rs 90,000, and a similar ticket of Air India for Mumbai-Bhubaneswar going up to Rs 84,485, according to the airlines' websites.

A similar trend was noted on many other high-traffic routes.

With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.

"The situation is such that you can't predict what are going to be the ticket prices when you book a flight. It may be two times, three times or even more than the normal fare range," he said.

Eighty-five IndiGo flights were cancelled on Friday at airports in Madhya Pradesh, leaving thousands of flyers in distress, officials said.

These include 49 movements, comprising 25 departures and 24 arrivals, at Indore's Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar, its director Sunil Maggirwar said. The airport is the busiest in the state.

Director Ramji Awasthi of Bhopal's Raja Bhoj airport said, "Of the 36 total movements at our airport, 28 were of IndiGo, of which 18 have been cancelled. These comprise nine incoming and nine outgoing." Jabalpur airport director Rajeev Ratan Pandey said 10 movements of the airline were cancelled from his airstrip. The facility is popularly known as Dumna airport.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday held IndiGo's mismanagement regarding its crew, with respect to the new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), responsible for the disruption of its operations, leading to severe delays and congestion at the major airports across the country.

Speaking to ANI, he said the events that have unfolded in major airports led the Civil Aviation Ministry to grant IndiGo a certain abeyance from FDTL norms to ensure normalcy.

"From November 1, the DGCA came up with new FDTL (flight duty time limitation) regulations. The Ministry also initiated a continuous engagement process with the airlines for at least 6 months. Previously, there was no issue regarding the new FDTL norm. Other airlines, including Air India and Spice Jet, have adjusted. However, what has unfolded is due to mismanagement by IndiGo regarding its crew. We have given certain abeyance regarding FDTL norms to IndiGo to ensure normalcy," Naidu said.

While IndiGo staff at airports are simply overwhelmed and are grappling with thousands of angry passengers, airports have made arrangements to provide comfort to passengers.

SpiceJet Chairman & Managing Director Ajay Singh underlined that SpiceJet has been extending help by running 100 additional flights over the next few days amid the ongoing issue of IndiGo flight delays and cancellations nationwide.

The atmosphere at the Chennai airport was filled not with excitement, but with confusion, stress, and helplessness as nearly total Indigo flight cancellations left passengers stranded for the third day.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, the most severely impacted day in terms of cancellations.

IndiGo is not out of the woods yet. The airline owned by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd which stopped all flights across India today has been lacerated by complaints from people who had to cancel their flight tickets.

The atmosphere at the Chennai airport was filled not with excitement, but with confusion, stress, and helplessness as nearly total Indigo flight cancellations left passengers stranded for the third day.

Chaotic scenes unfolded at the two commercial airports in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after 13 IndiGo flights from Srinagar and 11 from Jammu were cancelled, prompting protests from hundreds of stranded passengers over the airline's alleged failure to respond to distress calls.

IndiGo operations continued to witness disruptions nationwide due to pilot-rostering issues faced by the airline.

The BIAL, which operates the Kempegowda International Airport here, on Friday informed passengers that IndiGo flights from Bengaluru to Mumbai and Delhi stand cancelled till 11:59 PM on December 5.

Many travellers were left stranded following the cancellations.

A woman carrying an infant and hoping to attend her brother's engagement in Patna, another passenger holding an urn with her father's ashes to immerse in Haridwar and Lord Ayyappa devotees on their way to Sabarimala were stranded in the airport.

Pieter Elbers, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IndiGo, issued his sincerest apologies over the massive disruption of the airline's domestic flights departing from Delhi. In a video statement, Elbers said that it would take some time for the ongoing situation to become normal. “Situation will be normal between December 10 and 15,” he added. Read more

The DGCA on Friday issued a circular, ordering the constitution of a committee for a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances leading to operational disruptions of the domestic flights of IndiGo.

The committee will identify the underlying causes leading to the widespread operational disruptions. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Friday that in case of any flight cancellations, the airlines will issue full refunds automatically, without the need for passengers to make any requests. "Passengers who are stranded due to prolonged delays will be provided hotel accommodation arranged directly by the airlines," Naidu said in the statement. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Friday that the central government anticipated that the complete restoration of services of IndiGo's domestic flights will be done in three days.

In a statement, Naidu said, "...several operational measures have been directed to ensure that normal airline services are restored at the earliest and that the inconvenience caused to travellers is significantly reduced. Based on the immediate implementation of these directives, we expect that flight schedules will begin to stabilise and return to normal by tomorrow. We anticipate that complete restoration of services will be achieved within the next three days."

"To support passengers during this period, airlines have been instructed to provide regular and accurate updates through enhanced online information systems, enabling passengers to monitor real-time flight status from their homes. In case of any flight cancellations, the airlines will issue full refunds automatically, without the need for passengers to make any requests. Passengers who are stranded due to prolonged delays will be provided hotel accommodation arranged directly by the airlines," Naidu added.

He also said that the Centre decided to institute a high-level inquiry into this disruption.

Reacting to the ongoing crisis surrounding IndiGo, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "This is most unfortunate. As far as I understand, the DGCA had given plenty of warning to the airlines about the new system of working hours and rosters, etc. This meant the airlines had to hire more pilots, but clearly they failed to do so, inflicting chaos on the travelling public. The airline needs to do some serious introspection...They have let down the public."

Congress MP KC Venugopal hit out at the central government over the ongoing crisis in the domestic flights of IndiGo. In a post on X, Venugopal said, "550+ IndiGo flights cancelled in a single day is a clear consequence of the Government sleeping at the wheel while a duopoly established a deadly chokehold on India's aviation sector. The Modi Government has reduced a once-competitive industry to two players, prioritising corporate greed over passengers' interests."

"From the collapse of Jet Airways and Go First to Air India's monopoly merger - every move that has contributed to this disastrous outcome has happened under their watch," Venugopal added. 

Flights to several foreign cities cost less than many busy domestic routes, as international flights remain unaffected amid the crisis.

Between Delhi and Mumbai, one of the busiest routes across the world, return flights now cost nearly Rs 60,000 in the economy category. On other days, this would cost just one-third, around Rs 20,000, if booked at the last minute. For one-way travel, it quotes a fare of around Rs 35,000. Read more

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday took stock of the situation of domestic flights of IndiGo being delayed and cancelled due to operational disruptions. In a post on X, the Civil Aviation Ministry said, "This morning, the Hon’ble Minister visited the control room and reviewed its functioning to ensure seamless communication among all stakeholders with a special focus on providing timely information to passengers."

IndiGo on Friday issued an apology to all its passengers affected by the operation disruptions of its domestic flights departing from Delhi. "We will ensure that all refunds of your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

IndiGo added that thousands of hotel rooms across different cities and surface transport have been arranged for the convenience of the customers.

IndiGo said on Friday that all its domestic flights departing from Delhi have been cancelled till midnight. Earlier, sources within the DGCA told NDTV flights had only been cancelled till 3 pm.

Some IndiGo fliers have alleged that the airline "protected" its international flights as thousands of passengers were stranded due to widespread disruption of the airline's domestic operations this week. 

"Cancellations weren't random - they were strategic. Domestic flights took the maximum hit. International flights were largely protected - estimated to be less than 10% cancellations, mostly on connecting legs - because these routes deliver USD revenue, higher yields, lower fuel uplifting costs, and cancelling overseas flights triggers tougher passenger compensation rules under foreign regulations and reputational issues," a user claimed in a post on X that has now gone viral. Read more

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke to Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu in view of the domestic flights of IndiGo facing massive disruption. Home Minister Shah has taken stock of the ongoing crisis surrounding the airline. 

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday eased some pilot duty rules after IndiGo crisis leads to thousands of flight cancellations. This measure is being taken to ensure continuity of operations in light of the current disruptions. Read more

The chaos that impacted hundreds of IndiGo's flights is set to burn a deeper hole into the passenger pockets. Flight fares have soared multifold, with the budget carrier now cancelling all their domestic flights till midnight. Read more

Simon Wong, Singapore's High Commissioner to India, was affected by the IndiGo disruptions. In a post on X, Wong said that his flight to New Delhi to Deogarh was cancelled. 

The sudden cancellations and delays of several domestic flights of IndiGo have impacted train services. The demand for tickets on most trains departing from New Delhi has suddenly increased. The demand for Tatkal (last-minute) tickets has also increased significantly.

There has been a surge in passengers on trains from Delhi to Kolkata, Delhi to Jaipur, Delhi to Ahmedabad, Delhi to Prayagraj, Delhi to Varanasi, Delhi to Lucknow, Delhi to Mumbai, Delhi to Jammu, Delhi to Srinagar, Delhi to Bengaluru, Delhi to Hyderabad, and Delhi to Chennai.

The issue regarding over 500 domestic flights of IndiGo being cancelled has been raised in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. The issue came up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, with Congress MP Pramod Tiwari expressing concerns over the airline's monopoly and its impact on the Members of Parliament (MPs) and common citizens.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Tiwari said that the flight cancellations affected several MPs who had made travel plans for the weekend. 

Amid the chaos in Indian domestic air travel due to the operational disruptions at IndiGo, another airline- Akasa Air is facing a technical glitch. 

In a post on X, Akasa Air said, "Our Website and Mobile App are currently experiencing intermittent issues and some of our online services on our website, including booking, check-in and manage booking services may be temporarily affected. 

Passengers with immediate travel plans can reach the airport early to check-in at our counters or contact our 24x7 Akasa Care Centre on +91 9606 112131 and our team will be happy to assist you.

We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and want to assure you that our teams are working with our service provider to resolve the same at the earliest."

A unique and unexpected scene unfolded in Karnataka's Hubballi when a newlywed couple had to attend their own reception virtually, after widespread IndiGo flight cancellations prevented them from travelling to the city.

The reception of Medha Kshirsagar of Hubballi and Sangama Das of Odisha's Bhubaneswar, both software engineers working in Bengaluru, was scheduled to be held at Gujarat Bhavan, Hubballi. Read more

Angry passengers struggling to get their luggage for over 12 hours, no food, no water, and IndiGo's vacant counters - chaotic scenes continued at airports across India as one of the country's biggest airlines battled with operational issues leading to over 500 flight cancellations. Read more

More than 500 domestic flights of IndiGO have been affected due to the operational disruptions. 

The disruptions were primarily caused by a shortage of pilots that was not anticipated due to planning deficiencies. The ongoing problem has entered the fourth day, and the authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation.

IndiGo on Friday cancelled till midnight all its domestic flights departing from the Delhi airport as the airline continues to grapple with significant operational disruptions. The Delhi airport made this announcement on X.  However, almost simultaneously, sources within the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told NDTV flights had only been cancelled till 3 pm.