IndiGo chaos: Why is India's largest airline canceling hundreds of flights?

"More than 2,000 flights cancelled, stranding thousands of passengers, as the government intervenes to address the crisis. Air travel across India has been in chaos in the past week after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 2,000 flights starting on Friday, stranding thousands of passengers at airports across the country. The airline, which operates about 2,200 flights a day, has been facing pilot shortages after it failed to adapt to the new pilot rest and duty rules introduced by the government early last year."

"Mass cancellations of flights amid the busy travel season have caused a public outcry, forcing the government to intervene. The airline has been granted exemptions from the new rules, but the disruption has continued, with more than 600 flights cancelled on Sunday. The airline says operations will be back to normal by December 10-15. The crisis is the biggest blow to the carrier in its 20-year operation."

"Starting on December 2, IndiGo flights were delayed and later cancelled due to apparent pilot shortages. Flight disruptions were recorded in Mumbai, Hyderabad and other cities. On Friday, at least 1,000 flights were cancelled in one of the worst aviation crises in India. More than 600 flights were cancelled on Sunday, according to the Indian media, despite the government offering exemptions to the private carrier. At least 385 flights were cancelled on Saturday, the fifth day of the crisis."

More than 2,000 flights were cancelled across India, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports during a busy travel week. The country's largest airline, IndiGo, which operates about 2,200 flights daily, faced pilot shortages after failing to adapt to government-introduced pilot rest and duty rules. Mass cancellations forced government intervention and temporary exemptions, but disruptions persisted with more than 600 cancellations reported on Sunday and hundreds across major cities. IndiGo projected operations would normalize by December 10-15. The crisis represents the largest operational setback in the carrier's 20-year history.

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