IndiGo Flight Chaos in Gujarat: Over 100 Cancellations Trigger Passenger Outrage

Ahmedabad | Gujarat — The situation at the country’s largest private airline operator, Indigo, has worsened for the third consecutive days due to the scarcity of pilots and crew members. About 106 flights have been cancelled across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot airports. 

However, the passengers across the state are angry and there is chaos at all the four airports in Gujarat. At Ahmedabad airport, chants such as ‘Indigo Chor Hai’ and ‘Indigo Murdabad’ were raised. Since there is wedding season going on in the state, many honeymooners had to cancel their tickets due to the ongoing situation at Indigo. 

While Indigo flights are being canceled in large numbers, Air India tickets have jumped fourfold.  Passengers will now have to take buses and trains.

9 Indigo flights from Vadodara were cancelled.

Nine IndiGo flights between Vadodara and Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, and Goa have been cancelled.  Yesterday, two flights were canceled and two were delayed.  Flight cancellations have left passengers stranded.  Air India, on the other hand, would operate two additional flights on the Delhi-Vadodara-Delhi route today and tomorrow to assist customers who have been stranded at Vadodara airport.  Today’s Air India flight from Delhi will arrive in Vadodara at 13:45 and depart at 15:05.

A stranded traveler at Vadodara Airport complained vehemently that the airline company has raised its hands. The company’s policy prioritizes profit over passengers.  

Padmakantbhai Shah, who arrived at Vadodara airport, informed that his son and daughter-in-law had to abandon their honeymoon plans to Goa.  “From here, I was told that your ticket from Ahmedabad had been confirmed, so I went to Ahmedabad airport with my family, where we were told that the flight would take off at 1 a.m.  We were then informed that the flight will depart at 4 a.m.  Then they announced that the flight will depart at 8 a.m.  Then they gave us a time of 9:15 a.m., and then at the last minute, they announced that the flight had been cancelled”

No one is answering here, and I’m not sure where we live:  Zakir Hussain

Another traveler, Zakir Hussain, stated, “I have an international flight from Mumbai tomorrow.”  Today, as numerous Indigo flights were cancelled, I attempted to contact Indigo but was unable to do so.  I have a trip to Saudi Arabia tomorrow and need to be in Mumbai by today evening.  I work there, so I need to arrive on time.  Now, not getting a ticket will ruin my day, and I will have to buy another ticket for foreign travel, paying four times the price and losing one lakh rupees.  No one is replying here, and I’m not sure where we live.

 8 IndiGo flights were canceled from Rajkot International Airport.

Currently, 12 Indigo flights are departing from Rajkot International Airport, which is located in Hirasar near Chotila on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad route, although numerous IndiGo Airlines flights have been delayed or cancelled over the last two days.  Even today, eight IndiGo flights from Rajkot Airport have been cancelled.  Currently, Air India operates two flights from Mumbai and one from Delhi.

The 8.05 a.m. Delhi flight from Rajkot Airport has been cancelled.  Apart from that, flights from Mumbai at 9.00 am, Goa at 12.05 pm, Hyderabad at 3.55 pm, Bengaluru at 4.15 pm, Mumbai at 4.55 pm, Delhi at 5.55 pm, and Mumbai at 7.55 pm have all been canceled.  Passengers have been left in significant anxiety as the majority of IndiGo’s flights have been cancelled or delayed over the last two days.

Ahmedabad airport has seen a large gathering since early morning.  Delays or cancellations of flights are also causing inconvenience for passengers.  Angry passengers chanted slogans such as Indigo Chor Hai and Indigo Murdabad.  Many passengers who had flights today were rescheduled for tomorrow and given tickets.  Some are rescheduling their meetings, while others are having their interviews canceled.  Some travelers were unable to arrive on time for their wedding reception.

Indigo’s flight from Hyderabad to Surat was cancelled this morning, with one redirect.  Along with this, Indigo’s flight from Delhi to Surat has been rerouted to Bangalore.  In addition, there is no destination for flights from Bengaluru, Jaipur, Goa, and Kolkata to Surat this afternoon, therefore no timetable for flights from Surat to Delhi, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Goa, and Kolkata has been released yet.

Changes in the rules relating to the work of pilots-crew members beginning November 1

Indigo, the country’s largest airline, is experiencing a severe staff shortage for the fourth straight day as a result of new aviation safety regulations.  This has had a major impact on Indigo’s operations.  The DGCA modified the rules governing the work of pilots and other crew members on November 1.  The improvements have been dubbed Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL).  It was implemented in two phases.  The first phase was introduced on July 1, and the second phase began on November 1, after which the impact on airline firms, particularly IndiGo’s flights, began to be felt.

IndiGo operates 60% of the country’s domestic flights.

Finally, why is there conflict with IndiGo?

IndiGo has the most aircraft, totaling 434.  It has almost 2300 flights every day.  It operates more than 60% of the country’s internal flights.

What is the current personnel size?

 It now has 5456 pilots and 10212 cabin crew members.  There are more than 41,000 permanent employees.

Why is there a personnel shortage?

IndiGo claims that the increased flight duration limitations have resulted in a pilot and crew shortage.  The new guidelines limit pilots’ flying hours to 8 hours per day.  Night landings have been cut from six to two, and the crew has been given ten hours of rest in twenty-four hours.  According to company insiders, IndiGo’s scheduling system has failed to fully settle following this adjustment, resulting in an unexpected crew shortage on numerous essential routes.