IndiGo cancels 20 flights from Guwahati amid pilot shortage

Guwahati: IndiGo cancelled 20 outbound flights from Guwahati on Sunday, with airline officials indicating that normal operations are unlikely to resume before Dec 10. This marks an increase from Saturday’s 17 cancellations at Guwahati airport, despite the airline’s official statement claiming significant operational improvement and progressive restoration of network stability nationwide.While IndiGo’s national headquarters reported fewer cancellations across India on Sunday, Guwahati saw a rise. However, chaos at the airport — the busiest in the northeast — has eased in the past 24 hours, as passengers are now being notified of cancellations a day in advance.IndiGo official sources told TOI that the primary reason for cancellations in Guwahati is not technical issues but a shortage of pilots. The crisis has been exacerbated after authorities increased the mandatory weekly rest period for pilots from 36 hours to 48 hours.

“The number of cancellations from Guwahati is not decreasing due to the severity of the crisis. The shortage of captains cannot be resolved overnight.

We hope the situation will stabilise by Dec 10 as efforts are underway to address the pilot shortage,” an IndiGo official said.The airline’s current focus is to plan cancellations in advance to reduce passenger inconvenience. Guwahati airport witnessed severe chaos on Dec 4 and 5, when passengers were issued boarding passes only to later discover their flights had been cancelled.

Destinations most affected by cancellations and delays include Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Agartala, Chennai, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Imphal, Aizawl, and Ahmedabad.The crisis unfolded with seven cancellations on Dec 4, followed by 26 on Dec 5, 17 on Dec 6, and 20 on Dec 7. IndiGo has announced a full waiver on cancellations and rescheduling requests for bookings until Dec 15.The disruption has impacted passengers travelling for medical treatment and forced several official events at leading institutions in the northeast to be resched