IndiGo has said that it plans to operate more than 1,950 flights on Thursday, carrying around three lakh passengers, as the airline continues to restore its network after last week’s operational breakdown.
Air travel has been severely affected since December 2, when a shortage of pilots and crew forced IndiGo to cancel or delay hundreds of flights. The disruption also pushed fares to unusually high levels on several routes.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation directed the airline to cut its scheduled flights by 10% to stabilise its operations. The curtailed operations will also lead to reduced cancellations of IndiGo flights, the Union government said.
The airline said on Thursday that its schedule has been stable for three consecutive days, with no same-day cancellations except for a few caused by weather or other unavoidable factors.
Its on-time performance had also returned to “IndiGo standards”, the airline claimed.
“IndiGo continues to strengthen its operations, improving its services day by day to now operating 1,900+ flights that seamlessly connect all 138 destinations across our network,” it said in a press release. “Our commitment to operational excellence has led to significant efficiency gains, and our on-time performance has been restored to top-tier industry standards.”
The airline said its entire domestic and international network has been reconnected since December 8, with service reliability improving each day.
In a separate statement, it said it would provide travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000 as compensation to “severely impacted customers” whose flights were cancelled between December 3 and December 5 and who were left stranded at certain airports.
These travel vouchers would be applicable on any journey on IndiGo’s network for a period of one year, the airline stated.
It added that this compensation was over and above the one mandated by the government, which directed the airline to provide between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 to customers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure.
The disruptions began earlier this month amid the rollout of stricter work hour norms introduced in November. The revised rostering norms, issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in January 2024 after concerns about pilot fatigue, were meant to take effect on June 1.
However, airlines asked for delayed implementation because of staffing shortages and operational challenges, and the key changes were eventually introduced on November 1.
The new rules required longer weekly rest, restricted night landings, extended the definition of night hours and limited consecutive night duties.
IndiGo used to operate more than 2,000 flights daily and holds about 60% of India’s domestic civil aviation market.
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