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A large number of passengers were left stranded at airports across India on Friday, amid over 500 IndiGo flights being cancelled or delayed. The passengers expressed their anguish, calling it a "sinister plan."
Speaking to ANI, a passenger in Hyderabad said that she went back home due to the cancellation, but later she was called back right before the flight was about to leave. Owing to the confusion, the passenger criticised the airline. The passenger said, "I reached the airport in the morning at around 5 am. I went to the Indigo counter. They told me the flight is cancelled. When actually it wasn't cancelled. I showed my boarding pass, and they said yes. They were very sure my flight was cancelled, and they sent me home." "At around 7 am, someone called me from the boarding gate, asking where I am because the flight was about to leave. I said I've been sent back home by the IndiGo staff. If they say the flight is cancelled, I will obviously believe. I don't know whether they have a sinister plan to get, maybe, some of the people stranded yesterday, or whether it is overbooked. But I've never heard such a situation in my life. Now I have come back, and I'm standing in this long queue," the stranded passenger added. Namita, stranded at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, while on her way to Haridwar for her father's 'Asthi Visarjan', said, "I have my father's 'Asthi' (mortal remains post cremation) with me. I have to reach Delhi from Bengaluru. Board a flight to Dehradun from Delhi to reach Haridwar. The 'Asthi Visarjan' has to be done tomorrow. The flight has been cancelled without any prior notification. Now they are saying that they have no flights for today." She added that the flight costs have soared up to Rs 60,000 and requested the government to intervene. "They are asking us to book a flight with other airlines. Flight tickets for other flights cost Rs 60,000 per person, which I cannot afford. We are not able to reach Haridwar. All our money is wasted. A partial refund will be received after a week. I request the government to arrange something for me to reach Haridwar because my father's asthi visarjan in Ganga Ji is very urgent," she told ANI. Another passenger at Bengaluru airport expressed annoyance over the delay. He said, "I had to go to Jabalpur from Bengaluru. I received a message of a three-hour delay. I came from Chennai to catch the flight. I am facing a lot of problems. I had to get there on time to attend a meeting. I received the delay message when I checked in." "My flight is cancelled. There was no intimation. We are not being given an accommodation. Nobody is ready to tell us what is actually happening here," another stranded passenger said. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has announced the withdrawal of instructions that prohibited the substitution of leave for weekly rest for airline crew. In a statement, the DGCA referred to its earlier letter, which had stipulated that "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest." The regulator cited ongoing operational disruptions and requests from various airlines to ensure continuity and stability of flight operations as reasons for revising the rule. "Whereas, reference is invited to the above-mentioned letter, specifically to the paragraph stipulating that 'no Ieave shall be substituted for weekly rest'; and whereas, in view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision," the statement read. "Now, therefore, the instruction contained in the referenced paragraph that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect," the statement read, adding that the decision has been issued with the approval of the Competent Authority. The DGCA also granted a one-time, temporary night-duty exemption to IndiGo for A320 fleet operations, valid until February 10, 2026. Earlier, the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA India) wrote to the DGCA, expressing strong objection over selective and unsafe dispensations granted to IndiGo under the revised Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) CAR Phase II implementation. In its letter, ALPA highlighted that the decision to extend exemptions to the airline contradicts prior agreements, compromises pilot safety, and undermines the intent of the FDTL regulations, which are designed to protect passengers and crew. The DGCA's review found that IndiGo's operational breakdowns stemmed from transitional challenges in implementing Phase 2 of the revised FDTL norms, crew-planning gaps, and winter-season constraints. The revised fatigue-management rules, enforced following court directions, came into effect in two stages, July 1 and November 1, 2025. (ANI)
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