More than 1,000 flights canceled, Indian air transport falls into chaos

The Indian government on December 6 set a ceiling on airfares, as hundreds of passengers were stranded at Bengaluru and Mumbai airports after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights for five consecutive days.

IndiGo airline plane at Ranchi Birsa Munda airport, India. Photo: ANI/TTXVN

Air travel across India has been thrown into chaos as IndiGo has repeatedly cancelled flights, forcing the government to announce special relief measures for the airline and add trains to help ease the situation as thousands of passengers are stranded at airports.

The wave of cancellations by IndiGo has also led to a spike in fares on other airlines on popular routes. The government said it has set a ceiling on fares to ensure market prices and has asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to closely monitor fare movements in real time and coordinate with airlines.

In the past five days (up to December 6), more than 1,000 IndiGo flights have been cancelled, marking the biggest crisis ever for the low-cost airline after more than 20 years of striving to ensure on-time performance to attract passengers.

Explaining the unprecedented incident, IndiGo cited “many factors beyond its control” such as bad weather, technology system failures and especially new regulations on pilot rest hours issued by the Indian Civil Aviation Authority (DGCA). The regulations require increased rest time and stricter night working hours, causing severe disruption to the airline’s operating schedule.

IndiGo admitted it had not prepared enough staff to meet the new standards, leading to a severe shortage of pilots at a time when demand is high at the end of the year. However, after the Indian government announced exemptions from some rules, IndiGo said it could resume normal operations from December 10-15.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/huy-hon-1-000-chuyen-bay-van-tai-hang-khong-an-do-roi-canh-hon-loan-408646.html