Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday said it is investigating widespread disruptions to airline IndiGo’s operations and directed it to explain the recent spike in cancellations and delays, as well as outline how it intends to restore normal schedules, PTI reported.

On Wednesday, IndiGo cancelled over 150 flights across airports in the country, 38 of them in Delhi alone, The Indian Express reported.

The airline cancelled 1,232 flights in November, including 755 due to crew shortages and new flight duty time limitations, according to data shared with the regulator.

The remaining cancellations were attributed to airspace restrictions, airport-related constraints, an Air Traffic Control system failure and other reasons.

In this backdrop, the aviation regulator said it was reviewing the situation with the airline to reduce passenger inconvenience, PTI reported.

The aviation regulator noted that while many of the causes were outside the airline’s direct control, IndiGo’s on-time performance fell to 67.7% in November from 84.1% in October.

IndiGo in a statement on Wednesday said the disruptions stemmed from several operational challenges “including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules,” The Indian Express reported.

It said it had introduced calibrated schedule adjustments for 48 hours to stabilise operations,...

Read more