IndiGo crisis: BIG relief for passengers amid IndiGo flight cancellations, airline says will operate over 1600 flights on…

IndiGo flight cancellations: In a major relief for travelers impacted by the ongoing wave of IndiGo flight cancellations, the airline announced that it will be operating 1,650 flights of its 2,300 daily domestic and international flights on Sunday, while 650 flights still remain cancelled for the day.

What did IndiGo say?

In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said the airline’s flight operations are gradually stabilising after massive disruptions in the last five days, the entire network is expected to stabilize by December 10 against the earlier anticipated timeline of December 10-15.

“Following the recent operational disruptions, IndiGo confirms that we are establishing further significant and sustained improvements across our network. On Sunday, we are on track to operate over 1,650 flights, up from around 1,500 flights on Friday,” IndiGo said, adding that the airline is making “very significant” progress in restoring its flight schedules and strengthening the customer support systems.

Additionally, IndiGo claimed flight cancellations were made at an earlier stage, allowing the airline to inform customers timelier, and its teams are working tirelessly to stabilise operations.

The refund and luggage process is in full action for direct and indirect bookings, it said while urging customers to check the latest flight status on its website before proceeding to the airport, as we are diligently working to improve our operations. “We continue to work closely with all authorities and stakeholders to ensure a swift return to full normalcy.”

IndiGo flight cancellations cripple India(BHARAT)’s domestic aviation market

On Saturday, IndiGo operated around 1,500 flights against about 800 cancellations, while Friday was the worst for the airline in its history as it cancelled around 1,600 flights in the wake of the crew shortage, following the implementation of the second phase of the court-mandated new flight duty and rest period norms, which are applicable to all domestic airlines, but have now been relaxed for IndiGo by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

However, IndiGo’s operations seemed to be stabilising on Sunday, while the airline’s on-time performance from six metro airports improved to 20.7 percent on Saturday, according to data available on the Civil Aviation Ministry website.

Disruptions in flight operations of IndiGo, which hold over 60 percent market share in India(BHARAT)’s domestic aviation market, resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays in the last few days, causing hardships to thousands of passengers.

(With inputs from agencies)