Brace for fog chaos on Sunday: IndiGo cancels flights; AI issues travel advisory
IndiGo has cancelled 13 flights on Sunday due to forecasted bad weather and operational reasons, impacting major city routes. This follows earlier cancellations due to pilot duty norms and stricter fog operating rules. Air India also warned of potential disruptions in northern India due to dense fog.
ANI file photo
NEW DELHI: IndiGo has cancelled 13 flights scheduled for Sunday, citing forecasted bad weather across several airports, with two services affected by operational reasons. The cancellations impact routes to and from major cities, including Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Gaya, Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur and Pune.The airlines on Saturday had cancelled 57 flights across their network at several airports, citing weather conditions.
IndiGo Crisis Enters Day 7: Over 350 Flights Cancelled As Chaos Continues Across Airports in India
IndiGo, which had cancelled thousands of flights earlier this month due to stricter norms on pilots’ duty periods and rest, has continued to cancel some services for more than a week, citing “bad weather” as the reason.Meanwhile, Air India issued a travel advisory citing dense fog and reduced visibility across parts of northern India.
The airline said the conditions may disrupt flight schedules on Sunday morning in cities like Chandigarh, Amritsar and Varanasi."In the event of unexpected delays, diversions, or cancellations, please rest assured that our ground colleagues remain available to assist you.If you are flying with us tomorrow, we recommend checking your flight status here before heading to the airport and allowing extra time for your journey," the airlines said through a post on X.
The aviation regulator DGCA has designated December 10 to February 10 as the official fog window for this winter, requiring airlines to follow special low-visibility operating norms, as cited by PTI. Under the DGCA’s CAT-IIIB guidelines, airlines must roster pilots trained for low-visibility operations and deploy aircraft equipped to operate in such conditions.Category III systems enable aircraft to land in dense fog, with CAT-III A allowing landings at a runway visual range of 200 metres, and CAT-III B permitting operations at under 50 metres.Under its original winter schedule, IndiGo had approval to operate 15,014 domestic flights per week, or about 2,144 flights a day, around six per cent higher than its summer 2025 schedule. However, after widespread disruptions earlier this month, including the cancellation of about 1,600 flights in a single day due to stricter pilot rest norms, the government cut the airline’s domestic capacity by 10 per cent, or 214 flights daily. As a result, IndiGo is currently limited to operating no more than 1,930 domestic flights per day during the winter season.A four-member DGCA panel is probing IndiGo’s recent operational issues and has already questioned the airline’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, and COO, Isidre Porqueras. The panel’s report is expected later this week.The DGCA on Friday evening submitted its report on the circumstances leading to IndiGo’s operational disruptions to the civil aviation ministry, officials said.