IndiGo is facing major issues causing delays and cancellations everywhere and passengers at airports across India are growing frustrated and worried.

As passengers express their anger and confusion on social media, we explain the main questions about the ongoing issue.

The story behind the chaos

IndiGo said the delays happened because of several unexpected issues. These included small technical problems schedule changes due to winter, bad weather, more crowded airport and new rules for crew working hours.

Most of these things are common but the new crew rules are the biggest reason. In January 2024 India’s aviation regulator introduced new regulations to make sure pilots and crew get enough rest aiming to keep passengers safer.

The main points of the new rules are longer weekly rest periods for flight crews a redefinition of night by adding an extra hour and limits on how long crews can work and how many night landings they can do.

For example, pilots and crew can now work night shifts only twice in a roster period instead of six before.

When these rules came into effect many crew members couldn’t follow the airline’s old schedules. This caused confusion in rosters, leading to flight cancellations and delays.

Why IndiGo was worst hit by the flight glitch

One big reason IndiGo was hit so hard is its massive size. The airline runs over 2,200 domestic and international flights every day about twice as many as Air India.

Even if just 10–20% of these flights are delayed or cancelled that’s 200–400 flights affecting thousands of passengers.

Another reason is that IndiGo is a low-cost airline that relies on frequent overnight flights keeping planes in the air as much as possible and minimising downtime.

The DGCA’s new rules which limit night shifts and require more rest for crew directly clash with this model causing widespread disruptions.