Chandigarh (Rajeev Sharma): Passengers booked on IndiGo’s late-evening Chandigarh–Pune service endured a sleepless night at Mohali airport after the flight, originally scheduled for 9:15 pm on Thursday, finally departed nearly 10 hours late on Friday morning. The incident has become one of the most striking examples of the airline’s ongoing meltdown, which has disrupted operations across the country for days.
A night of confusion and frayed tempers
Travellers said the experience was marked by shifting departure times and little reliable information. The boarding time moved repeatedly—first by a couple of hours, then in smaller increments—leaving fliers unsure whether they should expect takeoff or prepare for cancellation.
“We were told different things every hour,” said one passenger. “At some point, people stopped believing the updates altogether.”
By early morning, it emerged that the incoming aircraft from Pune had been stuck due to congestion there, delaying the Chandigarh departure even further. When passengers finally boarded around 7:15 am, the flight was held up again because luggage belonging to an absent traveller had to be located and removed. The aircraft took off at 7:50 am.
Ripple effect across the country
IndiGo, which normally runs over 2,000 flights a day, has been battling severe disruptions all week. More than 550 flights were cancelled on Thursday, with hundreds more delayed as the airline scrambled to readjust its rosters.
Airports in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Goa reported significant operational setbacks as cancellations mounted. At several terminals, passengers queued for hours seeking alternative options or refunds.
Government steps in as punctuality sinks
On Wednesday, IndiGo’s on-time performance dropped below 20 percent—an unprecedented figure for a carrier known for reliability. With frustration growing among travellers, the Civil Aviation Ministry and DGCA summoned IndiGo executives on Thursday to review the situation and push for swift corrective action.
CEO Pieter Elbers reportedly told staff that restoring normal schedules would be a “gradual process,” signalling that relief is unlikely to be immediate.
Why the system collapsed
The airline has attributed the crisis primarily to miscalculations made after the rollout of Phase 2 of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules on November 1. The updated regulations, designed to strengthen fatigue prevention and improve flight safety, significantly altered night-duty requirements and crew utilisation.
IndiGo said it underestimated the additional staffing needed under the new rules. Combined with tech glitches, fog-related disruptions, and congestion at major airports, the network strain quickly escalated.
To ease the pressure, authorities have temporarily suspended two new FDTL conditions:
- The extended definition of night duty (midnight–6 am) has been rolled back to midnight–5 am.
- The restriction limiting pilots to two night landings has been paused.
Passengers hope for stability
As IndiGo adjusts its schedules over the coming days, more cancellations are expected to be part of the plan to regain stability. For those stranded in Chandigarh, however, the damage has already been done.
“Everyone just wanted honest communication,” a traveller said upon landing in Pune. “Instead, we spent the whole night waiting and guessing.”
With India’s largest airline struggling to regain control of its network, travellers nationwide are bracing for continued turbulence.
