‘IndiGo operations steadily resuming’: Delhi airport’s advisory after mass flight cancellations

As chaos continued at all major airports across the country, with a large number of IndiGo flights getting cancelled over the past few days, Delhi airport has issued an advisory, saying the operations are now "steadily resuming".

"We are glad to update that IndiGo flight operations are now steadily resuming and getting back to normalcy following the brief disruptions. Please check the status of your booking and flight before leaving home," the Indira Gandhi International Airport said in a statement.

On Friday, IndiGo, India's largest airline, which controls about two-thirds of the country's domestic traffic, cancelled all domestic flights from Delhi due to pilot rostering issues. Across the nation, over 1,000 flights were cancelled, leading to chaos and confusion at airports and prompting protests by passengers.

The massive flight disruptions were caused by IndiGo's failure to plan properly for the new flight duty norms that provide for increased rest periods and fewer night landings.

Now, following the turmoil and mass flight cancellations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has provided a temporary exemption from the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms to the airline.

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu on Friday said various operational measures, including keeping new flight duty norms in abeyance, will help address the IndiGo flight disruptions.

Meanwhile, in a video message, IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers admitted that December 5 was the most severely impacted day, with the number of cancellations crossing 1,000. 

"I extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience it has caused to our customers. It will take some time to return to a full normal situation, which we do anticipate between 10-15 December," Elbers said.