Two in every three flights of IndiGo delayed, company to adjust schedules

IndiGo has put in place a calibrated adjustment to its schedule to normalise operations

Punctuality of IndiGo, India’s biggest carrier, took a hit on Tuesday and Wednesday (December 2 and 3) as the airline was overwhelmed with multiple flight cancellations and delays which crippled its schedule. An estimated 250-300 flights were cancelled during the two days.

As per data on ‘on time performance’ (OTP) shared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, two out of every three flights of IndiGo were late on December 2. While only 35% of IndiGo’s 2,200 flights operated on time, the largely neglected Alliance Air, owned by the government, clocked a better OTP of 38% for the same date.

Airport sources said that since 65% of IndiGo’s flights were late, the delay was anywhere between 1 hour to 5 hours. The delays were reported on crucial routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Bengaluru and Mumbai-Bengaluru.

To contain the disruption and restore stability, IndiGo has initiated calibrated adjustments to its schedules. These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours. "This will allow us to normalise our operations and progressively recover our punctuality across the network," IndiGo said in a statement.

The affected customers are being offered alternate travel arrangements to reach their destinations or refunds, as applicable.

"A multitude of unforeseen operational challenges including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations) had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated," IndiGo added.

Since IndiGo controls 65% of India’s air traffic, a disruption in its operations lead to a cascading effect on the schedule of other airlines as airlines need infrastructure support during boarding or disembarking passengers.

Delays also cause more passenger presence at airports than usual, straining the infrastructure for the passengers. Industry estimates point that there were 150-200 flight cancellations on December 2, which is roughly 10% of its daily schedule.

This upset also caused the spike in the number of complaints filed by the flyers with the civil aviation ministry’s Air Sewa portal. There were 109 grievances filed against IndiGo on December 2.

SpiceJet clocked the best OTP on December 2 at nearly 83%, followed by Air India Express at 80%. Akasa Air clocked 73% while Air India had 67% of its flights on time.

IndiGo’s passenger load (seat occupancy in the aircraft) at 91% was the third-best on December 2. Air India at 93.4% was reported the best loan followed by Akasa Air at 93%.