India’s aviation sector experienced significant turbulence as IndiGo, the nation’s largest carrier, confronted substantial operational challenges leading to widespread flight disruptions across key airports. The airline acknowledged numerous delays and cancellations stemming from a confluence of factors including technological complications, airport congestion, and unspecified operational requirements.
According to confidential sources within Delhi’s aviation infrastructure, approximately 40 IndiGo flights were cancelled at the capital’s airport alone on Wednesday. Multiple insiders, including an active IndiGo pilot who requested anonymity, revealed that crew shortages constituted a primary contributing factor. These staffing issues appear connected to newly implemented pilot duty time regulations that became effective in recent months.
IndiGo’s official statement emphasized their teams were “working diligently to ensure that operations normalize as soon as possible,” though the company provided limited specifics regarding the root causes. The operational difficulties manifested dramatically in performance metrics, with the airline recording merely 35% on-time performance on Tuesday according to civil aviation ministry data—a significant decline from their typical 80%+ performance rate at major Indian airports.
Flightradar24 data indicated approximately 700 delayed flights across India’s three busiest aviation hubs—Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru—with Delhi accounting for over two-thirds of these disruptions. These incidents follow previous aviation infrastructure challenges, including an air traffic control system outage at Delhi Airport last month that affected multiple carriers.
The situation prompted Delhi Airport to issue a formal communication via social media platform X, noting that several domestic airlines were experiencing operational challenges that might result in delays or schedule adjustments.
Market response was immediately evident as IndiGo’s shares declined approximately 2% following the operational disclosure, despite the stock having gained nearly 23% year-to-date. The airline, which commands over 60% of India’s domestic market with more than 2,200 daily flights, has been aggressively expanding its international operations while facing recent financial pressure from dollar strength and subdued passenger sentiment following June’s deadly Air India accident.