More than 1,000 IndiGo flights were canceled in three days, and some were delayed because of operational problems.

Since Tuesday, IndiGo, the country's biggest airline, has canceled more than 1,000 flights, leaving tens of thousands of people stuck.

Since Tuesday, more than 1,000 IndiGo flights have been canceled because of chaos at several airports across India. The airline is still dealing with operational problems. On Friday, pictures of long lines outside IndiGo counters at a number of airports appeared on social media as passengers complained about their flights being delayed.

According to airport officials, 135 IndiGo flights left and 90 arrived at Delhi's IGI airport on Friday. At the same time, more than 100 flights were canceled at Bengaluru airport and 92 at Hyderabad airport.

More than 400 flights were canceled on Thursday alone. The airline told the aviation regulators that "misjudgment and planning gaps" caused the huge disruption. Officials at the airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad told HT that about 150 flights were canceled on Thursday. This happened after at least 150 flights were canceled on Wednesday and even more on Tuesday.

Problems with IndiGo flights

The country's biggest airline has canceled more than 800 flights since Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stuck. On Thursday, the airline apologized for the second time in two days. The statement said, "IndiGo teams are working hard and doing everything they can with the help of MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI, and airport operators to lessen the effects of these delays and bring things back to normal."

Airport officials say that more than 200 flights were canceled at Delhi's IGI airport on Friday. At Bengaluru airport, 52 IndiGo arrival flights and 50 departure flights were canceled. At Hyderabad airport, 92 flights were canceled.

The airline usually has a high on-time record, but on Wednesday it only had 19.7 percent of its flights on time, down from 35 percent on Tuesday.

PTI sources said that IndiGo canceled more than 550 domestic and international flights on Thursday, and there were delays at several airports.

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu met with officials from his ministry and IndiGo to talk about the problems. The airline asked for more time until February 10 to fully stabilize operations.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) teams that were checking Terminal 1 of Delhi Airport also found that IndiGo didn't have enough staff to handle the crowds caused by the disruption.

IndiGo flights have been canceled. When will things go back to normal?

The airline asked aviation regulators to let them break the rules that limit pilot duty hours at night. They also said that normal operations would not start up again until February 10, 2026, because of the problems across the country.

It also said that more flights would be canceled in the next two to three days as part of efforts to stabilize the schedule. Starting on December 8, there would be fewer flights. The DGCA did not say if it had agreed to the request.

"The problems have mostly come from mistakes and planning holes in putting Phase 2 of the (Flight Duty Time Limitations) into action. The airline admits that the actual crew requirement was higher than they expected," the aviation regulator said in a statement.