India’s largest airline is experiencing its toughest crisis in years after cancelling thousands of flights amid a severe pilot shortage – a result of its failure to hire enough staff to meet new government rules designed to combat pilot fatigue.
Analysts say the turmoil at IndiGo highlights the structural challenges faced by a fast-growing aviation market currently dominated by just two carriers.
About 3,000 IndiGo flights were cancelled last week, including more than 1,000 on Friday, accounting for nearly half of its typical daily operations. The airline operated 1,800 flights on Tuesday, up from 1,650 the previous day, according to its website.
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India’s Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday vowed strict action over the chaos in India’s skies. IndiGo commands about 65 per cent of the domestic market and operates a fleet of 417 aircraft.
Under the revised flight duty rules, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended pilots’ mandatory weekly rest period from 36 hours to 48 and capped their flying hours, particularly for late-night and early-morning slots, limiting pilots to two landings between midnight and dawn each week.
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“The updated requirements were communicated … to airlines more than a year ago, but apparently the airline [IndiGo] didn’t make the required changes internally in terms of crew planning and flight scheduling,” said Shantanu Gangakhedkar, a senior consultant for aerospace and defence at Frost & Sullivan.