IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers announced that flight disruptions are expected to normalize between December 10-15, with
cancellations falling below 1000 starting tomorrow. He apologized for the inconvenience caused, noting that December 5
was the most impacted day with over 1000 cancellations. The implementation of FDTL relief is significantly aiding the
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IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Friday said the ongoing operational disruptions should stabilise by December 10–15, adding
that daily cancellations are likely to drop below 1,000 starting tomorrow.
"Dec 5 was the most severely impacted day with the number of cancellations well over 1000. I extend our sincerest
apologies for the inconvenience it has caused to our customers...FDTL implementation relief is a great help...It will
take some time to return to full normal situation, which we do anticipate between 10-15 December..." said the airline's
"Regrettably, earlier measures of the last few days have proven not to be enough. So we decided today for a reboot of
all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest number of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive
improvements starting tomorrow onwards. With these actions we expect tomorrow to have cancellations below 1.000. The
support of DGCA in providing specific FDTL implementation relief, is of great help," said Elbers.
Aviation regulator DGCA has kept in abeyance the implementation of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms,
and gaps in planning the second phase implementation of these norms are one of the key factors for the current flight
disruptions. IndiGo is the country's largest airline and generally operates around 2,300 flights daily.
Air travel across India remained in chaos for a fourth straight day on Friday as IndiGo, the country's largest airline,
scrapped around 500 flights, including all departures from New Delhi, leaving thousands of passengers stranded for
several hours at a stretch with little clarity on alternatives.
The crisis, sparked after IndiGo -- which controls about two-thirds of India's domestic traffic -- failed to plan for
new pilot flying-time regulations, leaving travellers missing everything from wedding receptions to job interviews and
onward international connections.
As anger mounted and Opposition parties attacked the government for doing nothing, the Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots.
The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and
allowed only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to
"misjudgment and planning gaps".
On Friday, Delhi airport announced all IndiGo departures for the day -- around 235 flights -- were cancelled. Chennai
airport similarly halted all departures to major metro destinations until 6 pm.
The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and
allowed only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to
"misjudgment and planning gaps".
After three days of chaos across airports, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu said in a statement, "We anticipate
that complete restoration of services will be achieved within the next three days. With initiation of various
operational steps, flight schedules are expected to return to normal by tomorrow (Saturday)."
"Keeping new flight duty norms in abeyance, taking other operational steps to help normalise operations. The government
has ordered a high-level inquiry to determine reasons, accountability for IndiGo flight disruptions," he said.
Easing flight duty norms, the DGCA allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period.
IndiGo's on-time performance plummeted to 8.5 per cent on Thursday, with worsening operational disruptions impacting
The country's largest airline, which generally operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, is now
cancelling flights as part of efforts to tackle disruptions, primarily triggered by crew woes.
The On-Time Performance (OTP), an indicator of an airline's punctuality, plunged to 8.5 per cent on Thursday, as per the
latest data from the civil aviation ministry.
The airline, which presents its punctuality as a hallmark, recorded an on-time performance of 19.7 per cent on
Wednesday, a steep fall from 35 per cent reported on Tuesday.
On Thursday, the OTP of Air India and Air India Express were at 61 per cent and 58.6 per cent, respectively, while that
of Akasa Air stood at 63 per cent.
The readings for SpiceJet and state-owned Alliance Air were at 56.4 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively.
The OTP is calculated based on the performance of airlines at six major airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai,
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