New Delhi, 6 December (H.S.): India's largest airline, IndiGo, shows signs of operational recovery on Saturday after days of widespread disruptions that stranded thousands of passengers across major airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Indore, and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) provided critical relief by granting IndiGo exemptions from stringent pilot duty time limitations, such as night duty hours and weekly rest rules, valid until February 10, 2026, to stabilize operations disrupted for four consecutive days.

These measures, including redeploying pilots from regulatory roles and adjusting night definitions from midnight-to-6 a.m. to midnight-to-5 a.m., aim to boost crew availability without compromising safety standards.

Despite progress, delays persist at key hubs like Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and Bhopal, leaving passengers frustrated.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a late Friday apology for the inconvenience, noting over 1,000 cancellations on December 5—roughly half of the carrier's typical 2,300 daily flights—and projecting fewer than 1,000 on Saturday with full normalization anticipated between December 10 and 15.

The airline, commanding two-thirds of domestic traffic, blamed crew shortages tied to recent flight duty regulations for the crisis.

The fallout has triggered skyrocketing airfares, with SpiceJet's one-way Kolkata-Mumbai economy ticket for December 6 hitting ₹90,000 and Air India's Mumbai-Bhubaneswar fare reaching ₹84,485—three to four times normal rates—exacerbating traveler woes amid limited alternatives.

IndiGo pledged full refunds and accommodations for affected passengers during this period.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar