IndiGo blames tech glitches and crew rostering for widespread flight disruption
December 4, 2025
IndiGo is working to bring its flight programme back under control after two days of extensive disruption across its network, prompting the airline to apologise to passengers and implement short-term schedule cuts in an attempt to stabilise operations.
The carrier, India’s largest by market share, has been battling a combination of operational and regulatory pressures that have slowed its normally high-frequency operation at the start of the winter travel season.
Indigo blame technology glitches and rostering for disruption
The airline said the problems stemmed from several issues coinciding at once.
A spokesperson acknowledged that the disruption had been severe and that customers had borne the brunt of it: “We acknowledge that IndiGo’s operations have been significantly disrupted across the network for the past two days, and we sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused.”
According to the carrier, the situation emerged from “a multitude of unforeseen operational challenges” affecting their services across India and beyond.
These included isolated technology failures, seasonal scheduling changes, worsening weather across parts of India, congestion within the national aviation system and the roll-out of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), which alter how crew can be rostered and rested.
The airline said these separate factors had combined in ways that were “not feasible to be anticipated”, leading to delays, cancellations and knock-on effects across its domestic and international network.
IndiGo exposed to Indian aviation sector fluctuations
India’s aviation sector has been hit throughout the year by infrastructure bottlenecks and resource constraints, and IndiGo’s size – it operates more than 2,300 daily flights – means it is often the most visibly affected.
To regain stability, the airline has implemented a short-term reduction in schedules.
IndiGo cancelled more than 100 flights on Wednesday and saw many others run late. Bengaluru recorded the highest number of cancellations with at least 42 flights grounded, followed by 38 in Delhi, 33 in Mumbai and 19 in Hyderabad.
At Delhi’s terminal, the disruption left close to 1,000 travellers stuck inside the building on Tuesday night.
Schedule reductions, which will be in place for at least 48 hours, are part of a controlled attempt to slow the network sufficiently to recover punctuality and reduce the risk of further cancellations.
IndiGo said: “To contain the disruption and restore stability, we have initiated calibrated adjustments to our schedules. These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow us to normalise our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network.”
IndiGo still working to stabilise its operation
Across airports, IndiGo teams have been deployed to assist passengers with rebooking and refunds.
The IndiGo spokesperson added: “Our teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilise as quickly as possible. Furthermore, the affected customers are being offered alternate travel arrangements to reach their destinations or refunds, as applicable.”
The disruption comes during a period of sustained expansion for IndiGo, which has been inducting aircraft at pace and widening its international footprint.
The carrier now has a fleet exceeding 400 aircraft and carried more than 118 million passengers in the last financial year.
Featured image: IndiGo
