IndiGo grapples with flight delays, cancellations amidst pilot shortage

A mounting pilot shortage at IndiGo is resulting in flight cancellations and large number of delays by upto seven hours which is exacerbated on Wednesday (December 3, 2025) by some cabin crew no shows in Mumbai. 

The pilot shortage is triggered by the full implementation of the stricter rest and duty norms for them effective November 1.

Over the past few weeks, airline’s operations team have reached out to pilots to return early from their sick leaves and asked others to give up their privilege leave.

Government data showed that only 35% of the airline’s flights were on time on December 2, and 49.5% were on time on December 1. 

To make matters worse, no show by some crew on Wednesday delayed several flights,including the Mumbai-Maldives service.

In Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, several IndiGo flights have been cancelled for the second consecutive day.

As many as 19 IndiGo flights, both arrivals and departures, were cancelled in Hyderabad.

Pilots are reportedly furious over airlines trying to misinterpret the new rest and duty norms to overcome the shortage. The matter was also taken up by pilot body Airlines Pilot Association (ALPA) during a meeting with the Director General at DGCA last week.

Indigo, in a media statement, attributed the cancellations to “various reasons, including technology issues, airport congestion, and operational requirements.” Our teams are working diligently to ensure that operations normalise as soon as possible, the airline’s statement said.