Working to reduce cascading impact of delays: IndiGo extends apology for flight disruptions

India's largest airline IndiGo said that it is working with Civil Aviation Ministry, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Airports Authority of India and airport operators to reduce the 'cascading impact' of the delays caused due to widespread disruptions across its operations.

"The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events. IndiGo teams are working diligently and making all efforts with the support of MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI and airport operators to reduce the cascading impact of these delays and restore normalcy," said IndiGo.

"We continue to keep our customers apprised of any changes to their scheduled flights and advise them to check the latest status at https://goindigo.in/check-flight-status.html before heading to the airport. IndiGo deeply regrets the inconvenience caused and remains focussed on streamlining its operations at the earliest," added IndiGo.

IndiGo informs stable ops by Feb 10

IndiGo has told India's aviation regulator its operations will be fully restored by February 10, and has asked for relief from some provisions that limit pilot duty hours at night after the airline cancelled hundreds of flights this week due to a shortage of aviators.

Thousands of passengers were stranded again on Thursday, the third day of chaos after India's biggest airline failed to make sufficient changes to its roster planning to accommodate new government regulations.

"The disruptions have arisen primarily from misjudgement and planning gaps in implementing Phase 2 of the (Flight Duty Time Limitations), with the airline accepting that the actual crew requirement exceeded their anticipation," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement late on Thursday after a briefing from IndiGo representatives.

IndiGo commands 60% of the market and has built its reputation on punctuality, and has acknowledged that stricter flight duty time limits have been a factor in the cancellations.