Airports across India were thrown into disarray as IndiGo’s ongoing operational crisis led to mass cancellations on Friday, with frustrated passengers stuck in terminals with little clarity.
IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, cancelled more than 700 flights, its highest single-day disruption in two decades, after a mix of crew shortages, technical problems and scheduling issues spiralled for the fourth day in a row.
As per PTI, Delhi alone saw about 220 cancellations, followed by 118 in Mumbai, 100 in Bengaluru, 75 in Hyderabad, 35 in Kolkata, 26 in Chennai and 11 in Goa. Disruptions were also reported in Bhopal and other cities. By Thursday evening, the situation in Delhi had worsened to the point where all outgoing flights were cancelled.
Following the chaos, DGCA has withdrawn its instructions to all operators, including Indigo, that focused on weekly rest for crew members with immediate effect.
“…In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlincs regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations…the instruction contained in the referenced paragraph that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect…,” it said.
DGCA withdraws instructions to all operators regarding Weekly Rest for crew members.
“…In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations…the instruction… pic.twitter.com/uJXxs6Sxqy
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2025
However, the nightmare is far from over. Stranded flyers complained about lost bags, no food, and more. Here’s a closer look
‘No food, luggage missing’
At airports across the country, passengers say they’ve been stuck for hours, in some cases overnight, waiting for flights that are either endlessly delayed or cancelled without warning.
At Delhi airport, a passenger told NDTV he had been waiting since the previous afternoon. “They kept delaying the flight. We have no clarification from IndiGo,” he said.
Crazy scenes at Delhi AirPort. All Indigo flights delayed. Passengers stranded for last 10hours. And no communication from Indigo.#Indigo #noResponsibility pic.twitter.com/jAcacO8OuV
— Dhruv (@dhruv_ko) December 4, 2025
Many fliers shared photos on X showing people sleeping on luggage, crowded check-in zones and unattended piles of bags. Unsure whether to head home or wait it out, some slept on the floor, while others ended up shouting or raising slogans out of sheer frustration.
“It’s very stressful. It’s been 14 hours since I’ve been sitting here at the airport. There are no coupons for food or anything. My connecting flight got cancelled. People are shouting and howling, but the staff is not giving any clarification. The staff is not trained at all to handle such emergencies,” another flier told the outlet.
Scene at Bangalore airport. One Indigo flight to Delhi from last evening was rescheduled several times before being finally cancelled this morning. The incharge was roughed up last night. Absolute chaos. pic.twitter.com/XK7s15dBvA
— Riccha Dwivedi (@RicchaDwivedi) December 5, 2025
Similar scenes were reported from Hyderabad airport, where passengers said they weren’t given food or accommodation despite long delays.
Crazy scenes at Mumbai airport due to IndiGo flight delays pic.twitter.com/sPeO2q7FiS
— Jagriti Chandra (@jagritichandra) December 3, 2025
At the Goa airport, a video showed passengers yelling at IndiGo staff as police officers tried to calm the crowd.
As many as 14 flights were cancelled, and more than 25 flights were delayed over three hours, leaving weekend-bound residents and departing tourists stranded.
In one unusual case, a newlywed couple ended up attending their own wedding reception over video call after IndiGo’s cancellations prevented them from travelling.
The couple had married in Bhubaneswar, and their reception was planned in the bride’s hometown, Hubballi, on Wednesday, but they simply couldn’t get there.
Due to nationwide #Indigoairlines flight cancellations, a newlywed couple couldn’t make it to their own reception in #Hubballi from #Bhubaneswar.
Guests had already gathered, so the bride’s parents went ahead & hosted the event with the couple joining online via video call. pic.twitter.com/YXYMb4Hk9e
— Sagay Raj P || ಸಗಾಯ್ ರಾಜ್ ಪಿ (@sagayrajp) December 5, 2025
**Flying to Dubai is cheaper than Delhi-Bengaluru
**
IndiGo, which controls over 60 per cent of India’s domestic aviation market and flies around 2,300 flights a day, saw its disruptions push prices to extreme levels, as limited flight options were available.
On Wednesday, a last-minute Air India ticket from Hyderabad to Bhopal touched Rs 1.3 lakh.
One passenger travelling from Delhi to Raipur for his sister’s wedding said he learnt about his cancellation while already on the way to the airport.
“IndiGo is saying they might give me a flight tomorrow. There is no connecting flight either. I thought of flying via another airline, but fares are quite high; Air India is charging Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 one way,” he said.
On Friday and Saturday, Delhi–Bengaluru fares ranged from Rs 11,000 to Rs 43,145, while Mumbai–Kolkata tickets hit Rs 19,000.
Compratively, flying from Delhi to Dubai, is cheaper and costs around Rs 23,000, and Bengaluru to Dubai was available for as low as Rs 8,000.
IndiGo to cancel more flights; passengers demand CEO’s resignation
IndiGo has now admitted that it miscalculated its staffing needs under the revised crew-duty rules and faced planning gaps, which led to a
major shortage of pilots and crew. This came at a time when winter weather and airport congestion were also complicating operations.
IndiGo has warned that cancellations will continue for the next two to three days as part of its efforts to stabilise schedules. Starting December 8, the airline will reduce the number of flights it operates to prevent further chaos.
CEO Pieter Elbers told employees that restoring punctuality and normal operations will not be an “easy target”.
Anger is also mounting online. On Reddit, one user demanded that the CEO and senior leadership resign, blaming them for passengers’ “stress, losses, agony”.
“What an absolute sh*t show Indigo has been pulling over the last few days! Passengers have missed onward international connections, own weddings, funerals, deals – perhaps cumulatively, Indigo would be solely responsible for hundreds – if not thousands – of crores lost due to flight delays,” the user wrote.
They added that the “arrogance, rudeness and dogmatism” of the airline’s staff and management had “come to bite them”, and claimed the airline had long ignored customer feedback and government directives.
IndiGo issues apology
Late last night, IndiGo issued a fresh apology to its customers and industry partners.
“The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events,” the airline said in a statement.
It added that IndiGo teams are “working diligently” with the support of MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI, and airport operators to reduce the cascading impact and restore normalcy as quickly as possible.
With input from agencies
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