New Delhi:
By Friday, the sudden halt of all IndiGo domestic flights from Delhi Airport pushed ticket prices on numerous key routes to record highs. The abrupt grounding left far fewer seats available, sparking a sharp spike in last‑minute fares across the country.
Delhi Airport used its official X handle to announce that every IndiGo departure scheduled for December 5 would stay cancelled until 11:59 p.m. The airport added that other airlines maintained normal operations and urged travelers to verify their flight status before heading to the terminal.
The market reacted almost immediately. A one‑stop Air India flight from Delhi to Bengaluru for Friday night leapt to ₹1.02 lakh, whereas Akasa Air kept the same run‑way at about ₹39,000. Air India’s Delhi‑Mumbai one‑way route hit ₹60,000; on the Chennai‑Delhi corridor, tickets with Air India Express climbed to ₹41,000, and SpiceJet’s price hit ₹69,000.
Hyderabad‑bound services saw steep increases as well. A Air India stop‑over from Hyderabad to Delhi surged to ₹87,000. Fares from Hyderabad to Mumbai rose to ₹76,500, and Air India’s Hyderabad‑Bengaluru tickets climbed to ₹41,400, while Air India Express listed the same path at ₹36,100.
The problem spread far beyond Delhi. More than 220 IndiGo flights were cancelled within the capital, with over 100 groundings in Bengaluru and nearly 90 in Hyderabad. The cancellations sparked long queues, extensive delays, and left thousands of passengers stranded.
IndiGo has faced a wave of cancellations for several days now. The airline explains that the disruptions are a consequence of implementing new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules for pilots, which have created crew shortages and complicated scheduling. While the new FDTL guidelines aim to reduce fatigue and improve safety, IndiGo conceded it had underestimated the crew demands under the updated system.
In November, IndiGo had already logged more than 1,200 cancellations across its network. On Thursday alone, over 500 flights were cancelled across the country, marking one of the carrier’s most significant operational breakdowns in recent memory.
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