IndiGo cancels over 100 flights on crew woes; DGCA probes situation, seeks mitigation plans
Mumbai/ New Delhi (PTI): IndiGo cancelled more than 100 flights at various airports, and scores of services were delayed on Wednesday as the country's largest airline grappled with significant operational disruptions mainly due to crew shortage.
Aviation watchdog DGCA said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation as well as the plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.
As part of the calibrated adjustments announced by IndiGo, there will be cancellations and rescheduling of flights, sources said on Wednesday, a day when airports witnessed chaos as hundreds of passengers faced hardships due to services getting cancelled and delayed for long.
The airline, which operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, on Wednesday said a "multitude of unforeseen operational challenges" have significantly disrupted its operations across the network for the past two days, and apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience.
The challenges include "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," an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
The sources said over 100 IndiGo flights were cancelled at various airports, including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. At least 42 flights were cancelled at the Bangalore airport, 38 flights at the Delhi airport, 33 at the Mumbai airport and 19 at the Hyderabad airport, they added.
Besides, scores of flights were delayed.
"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source told PTI.
"The situation turned bad on Tuesday for the airline and the shortage turned worse on Wednesday with scores of flights cancelled and delayed from across airports in the country," the source said, adding that there are crew rostering as well as baggage system issues.
Social media was flooded with videos showing frustrated passengers arguing with airline staff over the flight cancellations.
IndiGo, which is known for its punctuality, recorded an On Time Performance (OTP) score of 35 per cent on December 2, according to the latest official data.
Citing recent operational performance information provided by IndiGo, DGCA said a total of 1,232 flights were cancelled in November, including 755 flights due to crew and FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) constraints.
As many as 258 flights were cancelled due to "airport/airspace restrictions", 92 flights were cancelled due to the ATC (Air Traffic Control) system failure and 127 flights on account of other reasons, the statement said.
The latest FDTL norms, which entail increased weekly rest periods to 48 hours, extension of night hours, and limiting the number of night landings to only two, as against six earlier, were initially opposed by the domestic airlines, including IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India.
But they were subsequently rolled out by the DGCA following the Delhi High Court's directives, albeit after a delay of over one year and in a phased manner and with certain variations to airlines like IndiGo and Air India.
While the first phase of these FDTL norms came into force from July, the second phase, which restricted the night landing to two from six earlier, was implemented from November 1.
The norms were originally to be put in place from March 2024, but airlines, including IndiGo, sought a step-by-step implementation, citing additional crew requirements.
On Wednesday, IndiGo said it has initiated calibrated adjustments to the schedules to contain the disruption and restore stability. The airline did not share any specific numbers.
These measures will remain in place for the next 48 hours and will allow the airline to normalise operations and progressively recover punctuality across the network, it said.
Many passengers took to social media to complain about flight cancellations and delays.
"Deeply unfortunate to see #Ayyappadevotees forced to protest at Hyderabad Airport after @IndiGo6E failed to address hours-long delays. Passengers deserve clarity, and responsible service. Hope the authorities take immediate action," an individual said in a post on X, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu.
In the statement, IndiGo said its teams are working around the clock to ease customer discomfort and ensure operations stabilise as quickly as possible. "Furthermore, the affected customers are being offered alternate travel arrangements to reach their destinations or refunds, as applicable".
Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) on Wednesday said the operational disruptions at IndiGo due to crew issues point to a failure of proactive resource planning by dominant airlines, and claimed that there could also be an effort to pressurise regulator DGCA to dilute the new flight duty time limitation norms.
As on December 2, IndiGo had a total of 416 planes in the fleet, with 366 of them in operations and 50 on ground, up from 47 last month, as per the aircraft fleet tracking website Planespotter.com.
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Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol unveil ‘DDLJ’ sculpture at London’s Leicester Square
London (PTI): Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol huddled under an umbrella on a rainy Thursday in London to unveil their bronze likeness from an iconic ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ scene.
The sculpture of the duo joins Leicester Square’s ‘Scenes in the Square’ trail depicting memorable shots from some of the world’s most famous films, with ‘DDLJ’ marking a Bollywood first and the 30th anniversary of the 1995 box-office hit. It is in this popular London square that SRK as Raj and Kajol as Simran first cross paths unknowingly.
“DDLJ was made with a pure heart. We wanted to tell a story about love, how it can bridge barriers and how the world would be a better place if it had a lot of love in it, and I think this is why 'DDLJ' has had a lasting impact for over 30 years now," said Khan.
“Personally, 'DDLJ' is part of my identity, and it is humbling to see film, and Kajol and me, receiving so much love since it was released,” he said.
He expressed his gratitude to the Heart of London Business Alliance, behind the cinematic trail at Leicester Square, for celebrating ‘DDLJ’ and “immortalising” its lead stars.
“Seeing ‘DDLJ’ become the first Indian film to be honoured in the iconic Scenes in the Square trail is an emotional moment and has brought back so many memories.
"I feel immense pride knowing the film has been embraced around the world, and I want to share this moment with the entire cast and crew of ‘DDLJ’, my friend and director Aditya Chopra and the Yash Raj Films family. This is a moment I will never forget,” added Khan.
Kajol, joined by her daughter Nysa and son Yug, posed with Khan in front of the statue as she braved the rain in a green saree.
“It’s incredible to see ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ continue to receive so much love, even 30 years later. Watching the statue being unveiled in London felt like reliving a piece of our history - a story that has truly travelled across generations,” said Kajol.
“Seeing it find its rightful place in Leicester Square, a location of such enormous significance to ‘DDLJ’, makes this moment even more special. For the film to be honoured in this way in the UK – the first Indian film to receive such recognition – is something that will forever stay in the hearts and minds of all the ‘DDLJ’ fans across the world,” she said.
Their statue, captured in a dancing pose from the hit song ‘Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna’, joins the likes of Harry Potter, Bridget Jones, Mary Poppins, and Batman in what is dubbed as an ever-growing celebration of movie magic in a square packed with multiplex cinema screens.
“When ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, DDLJ, was released 30 years ago, the film became a defining moment for Indian cinema and changed the face of the industry, capturing the hearts of everyone who saw it all over the globe," said Akshaye Widhani, CEO of Yash Raj Films.
“We’re thrilled to be the first Indian film to be represented in ‘Scenes in the Square’. It also marks 30 years of DDLJ, a film that has spread love and joy globally, and shows the cultural impact it has had in UK.
“We are honoured that our superstars and our film are being recognised on the world stage alongside the Hollywood elite, from Gene Kelly to Laurel & Hardy to Harry Potter. This statue will be a great way to express the international appeal of Indian movies and build bridges amongst communities through cinema,” he said.
Since its release in 1995, ‘DDLJ’ has become the longest-running film in Hindi cinema history.
Ros Morgan, Chief Executive at Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “We’re proud to welcome global megastars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol to our Scenes in the Square trail.
"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a cinematic phenomenon that has shaped generations, and London’s first tribute to Indian cinema honours a story whose magic continues to captivate audiences worldwide.”
It is a particularly special year for the film, with a musical based on the romance playing to packed houses at Manchester’s Opera House earlier this year. Aditya Chopra reprised his role as director of the English language stage production, ‘Come Fall In Love – The DDLJ Musical’, which revolved around the love story of Simran and Roger.
The script was a nod to the original as it followed Simran as a young British Indian woman who finds herself engaged to a family friend in India in an arranged marriage. However, the plot thickens when she falls in love with a British man named Roger.
