India’s largest airline, IndiGo, faced a major operational breakdown on Friday, cancelling more than 400 flights across the country due to limited crew availability and internal operational challenges.
About 53 departures and 51 arrivals in Mumbai , 52 arrivals, 50 departures in Bengaluru, 43 arrivals, 49 departures in Hyderabad, 16 arrivals and 16 departures in Pune and 2 arrivals and 2 departures in Thiruvananthapuram cancelled on 5 December. Passengers across airports faced hours-long waits as additional delays and last-minute cancellations continued throughout the day.
The disruption comes at a time when IndiGo is seeking temporary relief from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over new night-time landing restrictions and pilot duty-hour norms. The airline has informed the regulator that full normalisation of operations is expected only by 10 February 2026. IndiGo has already cancelled more than 1,000 flights in recent days and is set to impose further cuts from 8 December.
