IndiGo cancelled more than 70 flights from Bengaluru and Mumbai on Wednesday, causing significant disruption for passengers. The cancellations came after several days of delays across major airports.

While the airline cited "technology issues, airport congestion, and operational requirements" as the reasons, officials said a shortage of crew following the rollout of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) rules on November 1 was the main cause.

The FDTL norms restrict how long pilots and cabin crew can work in a day to prevent fatigue and improve safety. Since the new limits came into force, airlines have had to adjust rosters, which has led to temporary staffing gaps in some cases.

Government data showed that IndiGo's On Time Performance (OTP) fell sharply to just 35% at major metro airports on Tuesday, reflecting the wider operational strain.

In a statement, IndiGo said its teams were "working diligently" to restore normal operations. "We have had several unavoidable flight delays and some cancellations in the past few days due to various reasons, including technology issues, airport congestion, and operational requirements," the airline said. It added that affected passengers were being offered alternative flights or refunds as per policy.

Officials confirmed that 42 of the cancelled flights were from Bengaluru and another 32 were from Mumbai. Passengers have been advised to check the latest flight status on the IndiGo website before leaving for the airport to avoid inconvenience.

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