Passengers line up on the Indigo Airways ticket counter at Rajiv Gandhi Worldwide Airport in Hyderabad, India, on December 5, 2025, as a number of IndiGo Airways flights have been canceled or delayed. Photograph credit score: AP
IndiGo canceled greater than 1,000 flights on Friday (December 5, 2025) and plans to cancel tons of extra on Saturday (December 6, 2025), disrupting air journey throughout the nation and driving up airfares, prompting the federal government to exempt India’s largest airline from complying with new guidelines till February 10.
The airline restarted its techniques and suspended all departures from Delhi airport for the day to forestall cascading delays. All home flights from Chennai airport and all flights from Bengaluru to Delhi and Mumbai have been canceled for the whole day.
“Flight cancellations have been made in the present day to get the plane and crew the place they must be for a contemporary begin tomorrow morning. Sadly, the measures of the previous few days have confirmed inadequate. Now we have determined in the present day to restart all techniques and schedules,” IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers stated in a recorded video message. He added that cancellations have been anticipated to be “lower than 1,000” on Saturday (5 December 2025).
Given the scale and scope of Indigo’s enterprise, normalcy is barely anticipated to return between December 10 and 15, the CEO stated. The corporate operates a complete of two,200 flights every day and accounts for six out of each 10 passengers touring by air.
The Directorate Normal of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted IndiGo exemption from evening shift restrictions, together with a cap of two landings, until February 10. The airline admitted to the federal government that it had underestimated its elevated staffing necessities, regardless of a courtroom order on new working hours in April 2025, and acknowledged “planning gaps” in its operations in opposition to the foundations that got here into impact on November 1.
In a press assertion issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, it stated: “This exemption is granted solely to facilitate operational stability and doesn’t in any method cut back security necessities.” Throughout this era, the DGCA will overview the steps taken by IndiGo to deal with the state of affairs, together with hiring applicable employees to adjust to the revised norms.
A four-member committee was additionally set as much as examine the explanations for the huge disruption in Indigo.
Hovering airfares
SpiceJet added seven flights to locations reminiscent of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata on Friday (December 5) and 17 extra on Saturday (December 6), as airfares on different airways soar as IndiGo passengers attempt to make various preparations.
Northern Railway has determined so as to add 3AC (three-tier air-conditioned) coaches and seating coaches to its 4 premium trains to allow passengers to make various preparations. These trains embody Jammu Rajdhani Categorical, Dibrugarh Rajdhani Categorical, Chandigarh Shatabdi Categorical, and Amritsar Shatabdi Categorical.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu additionally held a gathering with varied pilot our bodies, together with the Airline Pilots Affiliation of India and the Federation of Pilots of India, and appealed to make sure pilots’ cooperation to quell the rising unrest over the momentary withdrawal of guidelines granted to IndiGo.
Individually, a public attraction from the DGCA seeks “the total cooperation of all pilots”, including that the regulator has deep respect for the vital position performed by pilots.
Various different measures have been taken to help IndiGo, such because the DGCA permitting IndiGo to quickly make the most of 12 Flight Operator Inspectors (FoIs) to deputize its operations. The corporate has additionally acquired assist to boost pilot coaching by extending the expiry date of examiners, permitting medically unfit trainers to conduct simulator periods, and permitting Indigo to collaborate with further coaching organizations.
