Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports on Thursday, as the Gurugram-based airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.
Lalit Modi posted a social media video from Vijay Mallya's 70th birthday party in London, referring to the pair as the 'two biggest fugitives' of India.
Taking a serious note of the situation, the civil aviation ministry said it has invoked regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
IndiGo has seen its pilots' strength depleting by 378 pilots in the last nine months despite its chief operating officer and Accountable Manager, Isidro Porqueras stating to the DGCA in a letter last December that "the overall impact of implementing the proposed changes above (now-implemented FDTL) norms would amount to an approximate 3 per cent increase in crewing requirements.
Baghaei also alleged that recent unrest in Iran was fuelled by foreign interference, claiming riots were triggered by "very evident" interventionist remarks by US and Israeli officials.
Pilots' body the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze."
The airline announced that it will fully refund all bookings cancelled between December 5 and December 15 and will offer a waiver on all cancellation and rescheduling requests.
"Microsoft Windows reports major service outages globally. IT services/ check in systems at airports are impacted," as per a message for the passengers at the Varanasi airport.
Indian airlines are resuming normal services to Kathmandu after the airport reopened following unrest in Nepal. Air India and IndiGo will operate additional flights to bring back stranded passengers.
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, has approached the Delhi high court seeking a refund of over Rs 900 crore it claims to have paid as Customs duty on aircraft engines and parts re-imported into India after overseas repairs. The petition came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Shail Jain.
In recent times, there have also been instances of GPS spoofing and interference incidents at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports.
IndiGo is operating 1,650 flights of its 2,300 daily domestic and international flights on Sunday, and 650 remain cancelled for the day, amid the airline's operations gradually stabilising after massive disruptions in the last five days, the airline said.
Indigo airlines cancelled 13 flights from Hyderabad airport, causing chaos and frustration among passengers. The cancellations were attributed to technology and operational issues.
Blaming Indigo entirely for the crisis, Naidu said that even on December 1, 2025, when the Ministry met with Indigo on FDTL, as it required some clarification, the company didn't flag the issue that caused the crisis.
'I don't think it is right to remove him over one lapse. The focus should be on restoring operations, not on removing a key management personnel.'
Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday said it has received IndiGo's response to the show cause notice issued over the large-scale flight cancellations and will take enforcement action.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and delayed, leaving passengers stranded at airports as the flight disruptions continued for the fourth day on Friday.
The Delhi High Court refused to entertain a PIL seeking compensation for passengers affected by IndiGo flight cancellations, citing an ongoing related case.
Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government has initiated an inquiry into Indigo's mass flight cancellations and will take strict action against the operator to set an example for other airlines.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has set up a four-member committee to carry out a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to the massive flight disruptions.
Pilots' body Airlines' Pilots Association (ALPA) India on Friday took 'strong' objection to safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s 'selective and unsafe' relief to domestic carrier IndiGo, amid widescale cancellations, saying the decision sets a dangerous precedent.
Where was the Board when a predictable regulatory change brought the country's largest airline to its knees? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
'The CCI will first need to take a prima facie view on whether IndiGo's role warrants a detailed investigation.'
IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday and said operations are expected to normalise in the next 10 days, as the country's largest airline received flight duty norms relaxation from watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which will probe the disruptions that have impacted thousands of passengers for four straight days.
IndiGo has processed refunds totalling Rs 610 crore and delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers after recent flight disruptions, according to the government.
The Delhi High Court agreed to hear a plea regarding mass flight cancellations by IndiGo, while the Supreme Court acknowledged the chaos as a 'serious matter'. IndiGo has cancelled 500 flights, leaving many passengers stranded.
With winter holidays approaching, some Indian travellers will venture abroad. Many will be underprepared for medical and other travel-related risks. Trip disruptions, missed connections, and steep medical costs in developed countries can leave travellers exposed if they underestimate the coverage they need.
'Where rostering systems are automated and duty time software interfaces directly with DGCA, the assertion that they suddenly discovered crew shortages is simply implausible.' 'If adequate crew planning hasn't materialised within 12 to 24 months from inception, how will 45 days -- from December 5 to February 12 -- suddenly resolve matters?'
'It has got to be the biggest error in aviation. If it is the biggest error, then all those individuals in positions of power should be removed because they have caused the biggest meltdown in Indian aviation history.'
'They are saying that there is a pilot shortage which is not correct, but if it was true, did they suddenly come to know this on December 5?' 'If they didn't have crew, why did they seek approval for a winter schedule? To get the approval, the operator has to show crew strength and also a buffer of crew available.' 'If they had a crew crunch, why did they ask for extra flights? Or was it something else that made them so sure that they would get away with this exemption and bans?'
Union Minister assures accountability after IndiGo flight cancellations cause widespread passenger distress and mental harassment. The DGCA has launched an inquiry and issued a notice to IndiGo.
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
Fair trade watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) is examining whether the country's largest airline, IndiGo, violated competition norms, a senior official said on Friday amid the carrier facing regulatory scrutiny over significant flight disruptions.
The aviation regulator stated that the "primary cause" of the disruptions was IndiGo's failure to make "adequate arrangements" to meet the revised staffing, duty-time and rostering requirements under the newly implemented Flight Duty Time Limitations scheme.
The Supreme Court declined to expedite a hearing regarding the widespread IndiGo flight cancellations, acknowledging the government's intervention in the matter.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Friday said various operational measures, including keeping new flight duty norms in abeyance, will help address the IndiGo flight disruptions, and complete restoration of services is expected in next three days.
An Air India Express spokesperson said that the Jeddah-Kozhikode flight was diverted to the Cochin International Airport and "made a precautionary landing due to suspected damage to the aircraft's tyre likely caused by a foreign object on the runway at Jeddah airport".
Anoushka Shankar reports damage to her sitar after an Air India flight, prompting an investigation by the airline. The incident has drawn reactions from fellow artists and highlights concerns about the handling of musical instruments.
The HC posed the question to the 70-year-old liquor baron, wanted in India to face trial on fraud and money laundering charges, on his return home while hearing his twin pleas.
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