Stranded passengers search for their luggage near a counter after IndiGo cancelled more than 400 flights, at the Kempegowda International Airport, in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (File photo/ PTI)
CHENNAI: When IndiGo’s flight operations went topsy-turvy in December last year, there were videos and photos of hapless and tired passengers confronting ground staff. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has now put a number to their faces.The directorate’s monthly traffic data for Dec 2025 says 16.2 lakh domestic flyers were stranded at airports across the country due to the non-availability of either IndiGo aircraft or their crew members. The number of people affected due to total cancellation of flights was 9.8 lakh, while those stranded at the airports due to delays beyond two hours were 6.4 lakh.Simultaneously, 43,278 flyers who had booked flights on Air India and Air India Express were affected due to cancellation of flights. The number of passengers affected due to delays beyond two hours was almost 1.2 lakh.DGCA prepared the traffic report based on information received from the respective domestic airlines. IndiGo spent about Rs 22.7 crore on refunds, alternate flights and other facilitation in the same month, it said. The airline, however, said it cannot share details about the number of passengers eligible for compensation and the number compensated so farAt a Jan 29 meeting to review IndiGo’s operations, the airline assured that it would be good to fly without any disruption, even with the removal of exemptions to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations from Feb 10 onwards, as they now have sufficient pilots on the roster. Civil aviation expert Captain M Ranganathan said the problem is yet far from over. “For each domestic flight, an airline should have six pairs of pilots and co-pilots, and for long-haul flights there should be 11 pairs. The pilot availability they submitted is based on DGCA’s civil aviation requirements (CAR) regulations 2022. For their present fleet, there will still be a deficiency of pilots under new regulations. There is another storm brewing if the problem is not addressed,” he said.Several pilots told TOI the biggest problem was poor pay. “Pilots’ salary is very low in India compared to other countries, and pilots are among the highest taxpayers,” said a pilot.
