A massive number of flights have been disrupted recently. There was a huge flight cancellation, and with hundreds of flights cancelled over the past few days, there has been a huge crisis. Approximately 170 to 200 flights are being cancelled per day. The carrier has scrapped more than 300 flights across the nation on the 4th of December, and this has eventually affected all the major airports such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and more.
Huge disruption in the history of Indian aviation
The airlines have cancelled approximately 1232 flights, and thus, it can be titled as one of the major disruptions faced by the Indian aviation industry. This has further led to a situation where passengers are kept waiting for long hours with lengthy queues. Also, there is a terrible confusion regarding the booking of alternate flights and the refund status of the cancelled flight.
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Root causes of this disruption
There is a new roster regulation that has come into effect regarding the duty hours of the pilot and the crew members. According to the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), updated rules are being implemented wherein the mandate triggers the motif of allowing the staff to avail rest periods amidst flying hours. Also, strict limits are set in regard to night flying. As a result, there is a reduced flying capacity set for each of the crew members.
Although this mandate was rolled out on the 1st of November, Indigo did not realise the efficacy of the newly imposed regulations. It did not ramp up the hiring process either! Also, it did not adjust at all in line with the roster planning. This gap has further led to widespread cancellations.
Indigo’s CEO further confirmed in a letter that cancellations have further increased due to various operational glitches and other compromising issues. There was a mix of different challenges, including adverse weather conditions, technological troubles and multiple schedule changes.
Since this is the peak travel time at the end of the year, and there is a huge seasonal demand and traffic density issue, this increased pressure on the airports and air traffic has made the overall situation even worse.
Indigo holds approximately 60% of the domestic share in the market, and this disruption has affected the aviation industry immensely. There are more than 1200 cancellations so far in the past month, and passengers in different metro and regional hubs have been suffering too! Of course, the anxiety among the passengers is quite great, and the overcrowded situation of the airport is making things worse. There is a huge spike in the fare price as alternate seats are being booked, and the entire schedule of all the airlines is being disrupted. Needless to mention, this is one of the biggest failures in the aviation industry so far!
