India's largest airline, IndiGo, is navigating a severe operational storm, marked by widespread flight cancellations, acute staff shortages, and even a bomb threat. This has resulted in significant chaos at major airports and mounting criticism from stranded passengers across the country.
Widespread Flight Cancellations and Airport Chaos
The scale of the disruption is substantial. IndiGo has cancelled over 300 flights across key Indian airports. The breakdown reveals the extent of the crisis:
- Over 90 flights cancelled at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
- 85 flights grounded at Mumbai airport.
- Hyderabad airport saw 70 IndiGo cancellations.
- 50 flights were cancelled in Bangalore.
- 11 flights from Goa Airport were also called off.
This led to heavy rush and chaotic scenes at terminals, particularly in Delhi on Thursday, December 4, 2025, as passengers faced delayed or cancelled travel plans.
Root Causes: Staff Crunch and Operational Challenges
The primary driver behind this turmoil is a critical shortage of cabin crew and pilots. This shortage has been exacerbated by the recent implementation of the second phase of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, which regulate crew working hours for safety.
In a message to staff on December 4, CEO Pieter Elbers outlined the compounded issues impacting the airline, which operates roughly 2,300 daily flights. These include operational hurdles, minor technology glitches, schedule changes, adverse weather, heightened air traffic congestion, and the new FDTL rules. Elbers acknowledged the airline's failure, stating, "the airline could not live up to the promise of providing a good experience to customers."
The operational metrics reflect the crisis. The airline's on-time performance (OTP) plummeted to a mere 19.7% on December 3. While IndiGo has announced calibrated schedule adjustments for 48 hours, flights continue to run behind schedule.
Bomb Threat Adds to the Turmoil
Amid the operational chaos, a serious security scare unfolded. An IndiGo flight from Madina to Hyderabad received a bomb threat while in the air. The threat was sent via email to Hyderabad airport's customer support. As a precaution, the flight was diverted to Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew were evacuated for a thorough security sweep. Officials confirmed that nothing suspicious was found during the initial search.
Leadership's Response and the Path Forward
CEO Pieter Elbers, in his communication to employees, emphasized the immediate goal is to normalize operations and restore punctuality, a target he admitted is "not easy." He noted that IndiGo serves close to 380,000 customers daily and that disruptions in such a large network require multi-level interventions.
The airline's social media team has been actively responding to frustrated flyers on platform X, apologizing for the inconvenience caused by delays due to "operational reasons" and assuring them that feedback is noted for future improvement. The company has stated its teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort.
This series of events marks a turbulent phase for the carrier, testing its operational resilience and challenging its reputation for reliability among the Indian flying public.
