Indigo has cancelled two inbound flights to Thiruvananthapuram from Pune and Bengaluru, and six flights, including arrivals and departures, remain delayed for hours on Friday
Disruptions in flight services continue to leave travellers stranded for the third consecutive day in Kerala as IndiGo, India’s largest airline, grappled with service disruptions for the third straight day in the State on Friday (December 5, 2025) due to an operational breakdown.
IndiGo’s operational crisis has caused widespread chaos for four days, leading to over 550 flight cancellations and stranding thousands of passengers. The airline attributes the disruption to unforeseen challenges and revised crew duty rules, while the DGCA points to misjudged manpower needs. Operations are expected to stabilize by February 10, 2026.
IndiGo’s operational crisis entered its fourth straight day on Friday, triggering widespread chaos at airports across the country, leaving thousands of passengers stranded with no food, no water, vacant counters and lost luggages.IndiGo cancelled over 550 domestic and international flights on Thursday, far above its usual 170–200 daily cancellations, causing widespread disruption across major airports. Most affected routes were linked to Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa.
IndiGo Crisis: Inside Pilot Shortage, Rule Change and Winter Delays Behind Over 200 CancellationsAccording to PTI, airport-wise cancellations included 118 in Mumbai, 100 in Bengaluru, 75 in Hyderabad, 35 in Kolkata, 26 in Chennai and 11 in Goa, with several other airports reporting disruptions as well.Since today morning, Delhi Airport has seen 225 IndiGo flights — both arrivals and departures — cancelled, adding to the ongoing travel chaos.Passengers stranded as cancellations soar: Across airports, frustrated passengers complained about long queues, no staff support, uncertainty over alternative flights and hours-long waits at baggage belts. Many shared photos on X showing crowds sleeping on luggage, overflowing check-in areas and piles of unattended bags — unsure whether to go home or hope for a last-minute update.
Sharing a post on X, one user wrote, “Spent the last 4h at Bangalore airport. Some people have been here for more than 13 hours. Every single Indigo flight has been delayed significantly and then cancelled. I still find privilege in having the opportunity to try and get on any flight so I can get to my meetings, yet, no flights available until 24h from now. This is not progress.
Thousands stranded.”‘Bengaluru tickets costlier than Taylor Swift concert’: Inside the terminal, long queues snaked across check-in counters and security lines, with seating areas completely full. A passenger travelling to Bengaluru told TOI that, “My flight was scheduled to depart at 2.15 pm on Thursday. I rushed to see if I could get a ticket on another airline. But a ticket to Bengaluru had become pricier than a seat at a Taylor Swift concert. Clearly, other carriers were indulging in ‘surge pricing.'”
Later, when the passengers asked an IndiGo staffer about their delayed flight, he reportedly said: “The plane is ready, but we don’t have a pilot to fly it,” offering no clear answers on the delay or cancellation.Angry flyers protested at gates: At several airports, frustration boiled over — angry flyers protested at gates, and the chaos even disrupted boarding for other airlines.Travel chaos spills over to other airlines: Airlines reportedly increased fares amid the crunch.