Over 300 flights of the Delhi-based low-cost airline, IndiGo, with many being cancelled or delayed on Thursday as a result of India implementing new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) for pilots, weather conditions in the southern part of India, on-board computer issues on the Airbus 320 aircraft, and Air Traffic congestion.
Thursday was not the first day that IndiGo’s flights were affected. On Wednesday, over 150 flights were cancelled due to various factors, including FDTL norms.
IndiGo is the largest domestic operator with a domestic market share of over 60 percent and operates around 2,200 to 2,300 flights daily.
In an internal communication sent to its staff on Thursday, Pieter Elbers, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, acknowledged that “the past few days have been difficult for many of our customers and colleagues,” adding that the airline serves close to 380,000 flyers a day.
“We could not live up to that promise these past days and we have publicly apologized for that. An accumulation of several operational challenges including minor technical glitches, schedule changes, adverse weather conditions, heightened congestion in the aviation eco-system and the implementation of the newly released FDTL norms,” the CEO said in an internal communication to his staff.
He added that the airline had faced challenging moments before. He said that given the “complexity of our network these disruptions grow large immediately and require intervention on multiple levels and dimensions.”
He confessed that “bringing back punctuality back on track in the next couple of days is not an easy target.”
While there was no official statement from the airline or the government on the cancellations, it is estimated that about 350 arrivals and departures were affected on Thursday. A spokesman for Bengaluru airport said 73 flights were cancelled on Thursday, while about 30 were cancelled in Delhi, 68 in Hyderabad, and 85 IndiGo flights were cancelled in Mumbai, according to airport sources.
Late on Wednesday, the Indian aviation regulator issued a statement saying 1,232 IndiGo flights were cancelled in November, of which 755 were due to crew/FDTL, 755 to ATC system failures, 258 to airport/airspace restrictions, and 127 to other causes.
The new FDTL norms state that pilots must get 48 hours of rest every week; pilots are now allowed to make up to 2 landings between 12 am and 6 a.m.; and airlines cannot roster crew members for more than two consecutive nights with a duty period during night operations. Now, pilots are not allowed to fly more than one hour beyond the flight time, nor to perform pre-flight and post-flight duties. For pilots operating Ultra Long Haul Routes (ULHR) an additional 24 hour rest period is mandated after two consecutive flights. ULHR refers to flights over 14 hours, like the one that goes non-stop between India and the US.
What has also affected operations in the last couple of days is an emergency Airbus A320 software update that occurred over November 29-30, and stormy weather in Sri Lanka and the southern parts of India, which had a cascading effect on the airline schedule. What added to the airline’s woes on Wednesday was that the baggage system at some terminals in Delhi did not function properly, so it did not show which belt flights’ bags were arriving on. Delhi is a major hub for IndiGo, among others, in the country.
The resultant crisis has led to a surge in domestic airfares and long waits for passengers at Indian airports.
The Airlines Pilots Association of India, which represents over 800 pilots, said that “it is a failure of proactive resource planning by a dominant airline. Despite sufficient time being accorded, most airlines started preparing rather late, failing to properly adjust the crew roster 15 days in advance as is required.”
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has approximately 5,558 members and serves as a nationwide body for pilots. The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) represents about 1,000 pilots, primarily those in commercial airline operations.
The government has responded, and IndiGo has told the DGCA that its operations will return to normal by 2026. There will be disruptions over the next few days, and IndiGo will reduce its operations to avoid further cancellations and delays.
Views: 0
About The Author
