IndiGo’s flight operations continued to face major turbulence on Sunday, with the airline cancelling around 650 flights nationwide, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across key airports including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The disruptions-now stretching into a sixth consecutive day-have prompted government intervention, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issuing a show cause notice to IndiGo and demanding a response within 24 hours. While the airline says over 95% of its network has now been restored, full stabilisation is expected only by December 10. 

#WATCH | Delhi: Visuals from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, where IndiGo passengers continue to be affected amid flight disruptions and cancellations. pic.twitter.com/zSXlB0dpO9

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2025

Mounting Cancellations & Nationwide Delays

The chaos peaked over the weekend as IndiGo grounded nearly 400 flights on Saturday alone, creating long queues, flight backlogs and confusion at multiple terminals. Visuals from Delhi airport showed passengers waiting for hours amid mounting delays. Hyderabad was among the worst affected, with more than 115 flights cancelled on Sunday. In response to the persistent disruptions, Delhi airport issued a passenger advisory urging travellers to check updated schedules before leaving home.

I was personally present at the airport. This was not a routine system failure by IndiGo; it was a deliberate and unlawful tactic aimed at bringing the government to its knees. Incidents like this can also pose a serious threat to the country’s internal security in the future. pic.twitter.com/GgbmfbIkWd

— Dr. Jitendra Nagar (@NagarJitendra) December 7, 2025

The crisis marks the most significant operational breakdown in IndiGo’s 20-year history. Holding over 60% of India’s domestic aviation market, the airline has long built its reputation on punctuality and reliability-making the scale of the cancellations particularly striking during the peak wedding and holiday season.

Pilot Rostering Rules Trigger Turbulence

IndiGo has attributed the meltdown to inadequate planning for India’s new pilot duty-time and night-flying regulations, which took effect on November 1. The rules sharply limit the number of night landings from six to two and cap night flying hours to a maximum of 10. With December bringing high demand, the airline found itself short of rested pilots, leading to a widespread roster collapse.

To help stabilise operations, authorities have granted IndiGo a temporary exemption from the new limits until 10 February. The airline said on Sunday that more than 95% of its network connectivity had been restored and that operations are expected to normalise fully by 10 December.