New Delhi, 5 December (H.S.): India’s largest airline, IndiGo, on Friday announced the cancellation of all domestic departures from Delhi Airport until midnight, citing severe operational disruptions and overcrowding. The airline also cancelled all departures from Chennai Airport until 6 PM, leading to widespread travel delays and passenger inconvenience across major cities.
Following a massive wave of flight delays and cancellations over the past few days, IndiGo issued a public apology to passengers, admitting that the temporary disruption was unavoidable. The airline said the decision was taken to reduce congestion at airports and reset its operational schedule for smoother functioning from Saturday onwards.
IndiGo clarified that the cancellations were part of a system reboot exercise after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) withdrew its strict directive issued earlier in the week. “Friday witnessed the highest number of cancellations in order to stabilize operations,” the airline stated, adding that the measure will help restore normal operations starting Saturday.
The airline assured passengers that full refunds would be processed automatically to the original mode of payment for all cancelled flights. Additionally, flight rescheduling and cancellations between December 5 and December 15 will be completely free of charge.
To ease the impact on stranded travellers, IndiGo claimed to have arranged thousands of hotel rooms and ground transportation in multiple cities. The airline is also providing food and snacks at airports and offering lounge facilities for senior citizens, where possible.
This marks the fourth consecutive day of large-scale disruptions for the carrier, with more than 600 flights cancelled by Friday morning and on-time performance dropping to just 8.5 percent. The crisis has been attributed to crew scheduling errors coupled with dense winter fog, causing major operational disarray at airports nationwide — including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, and Kolkata.The cancellations have left thousands of passengers stranded, forcing many to wait for long hours amid overcrowded terminals and mounting frustrations.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
