IndiGo on Thursday cancelled 67 flights across multiple airports due to forecasted bad weather and limited operational reasons, adding to the airline’s ongoing winter challenges amid regulatory scrutiny. According to data on IndiGo’s website, only four cancellations were operational, while the majority were linked to anticipated adverse weather conditions. Affected airports included Agartala, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Varanasi, and Bengaluru.
The cancellations coincide with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) officially declared fog season, which spans December 10 to February 10. During this period, flight operations are often disrupted by low visibility in northern and eastern India. Under DGCA’s fog operations framework, airlines must ensure proper preparedness for low-visibility landings, including rostering pilots trained for CAT-IIIB operations and deploying aircraft equipped with Category-III landing systems. Category-III technology allows aircraft to land even in dense fog, with CAT-III-A supporting visibility down to 200 metres and CAT-III-B enabling operations in visibility below 50 metres.
IndiGo’s disruptions come while the airline remains under DGCA monitoring following earlier large-scale cancellations this month that stranded thousands of passengers. The airline is operating a trimmed winter schedule as per government directions. Initially cleared for 15,014 domestic weekly flights (approximately 2,144 daily), IndiGo faced a government-mandated 10% reduction following massive cancellations in early December due to revised pilot rest and duty norms. This cap currently limits daily flights to about 1,930.
Between December 1 and 9, IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights, with DGCA attributing the disruptions to insufficient planning and crew shortages. In response, the regulator formed a four-member inquiry panel, which has already questioned IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras. The panel is expected to submit findings later this week.
Amid the new round of cancellations, IndiGo issued a travel advisory stating, “Low visibility and fog over Bangalore has impacted flight schedule. We are keeping a close watch on the weather and doing our best where you need to be safely, smoothly.” Despite this, passengers expressed frustration on X, citing long delays and demanding proper explanations and compensation
