IndiGo's mess on Thursday reached Punjab and Chandigarh resulting in multiple flights delayed. Due to multiple flights delay, passengers were left waiting at the airport for many hours. By 11 am, seven flights from Chandigarh were affected.
Chandigarh–Mumbai: Scheduled at 5:15 AM, departed at 8:05 AM
Chandigarh–Delhi: Scheduled at 5:20 AM, departed at 8:20 AM
Chandigarh–Lucknow: Scheduled at 5:55 AM, departed at 6:13 AM
Chandigarh–Hyderabad: Scheduled at 6:25 AM, departed at 9:15 AM
Chandigarh–Patna: Scheduled at 7:30 AM, departed at 8:17 AM
Chandigarh–Jaipur: Scheduled at 7:35 AM, departed at 8:01 AM
Chandigarh–Bengaluru: Scheduled at 8:00 AM, departed at 9:55 AM
Several IndiGo flights from Amritsar's Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport were delayed as well, causing significant inconvenience to passengers. Flight 6E278 from Amritsar to Mumbai did not depart on time. Flights 6E5215 and 6E2506 on the Amritsar-Delhi route also failed to depart.
Amritsar–Mumbai (6E278): Could not take off as scheduled
Amritsar–Delhi (6E5215 & 6E2506): Both flights failed to depart
Amritsar–Srinagar (6E6164): Did not operate, forcing passengers to opt for alternatives
Amritsar–Pune (6E6129): Scheduled for 11:50 PM, departed around 4:56 AM
IndiGo on Wednesday informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that the airline had to cancel a total of 1,232 flights, of which as many as 755 flights were scrapped due to crew shortage resulting from the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms.
Another 258 flights were affected due to airspace restrictions, while 92 flights were impacted due to ATC system failure.
The DGCA said in a statement that it is currently investigating the situation and evaluating measures along with the airline to reduce cancellations and delays, in order to minimise the inconvenience being caused to passengers.
IndiGo also informed the DGCA that its overall on-time performance (OTP) declined to 67.7 per cent for November v/s. 84.1 per cent in October.
The DGCA said it has provided further clarification to the airline for streamlining the implementation of the revised FDTL norms.
According to the DGCA statement, IndiGo is now taking measures to strengthen crew planning and rostering while adhering to FDTL norms. The airline is also enhancing coordination with ATC and airports to manage capacity constraints and improve turnaround and disruption-management processes.
Travellers are advised to verify flight status through official channels before departure, the statement added.
With Inputs: IANS
