(MENAFN- Live Mint) India's largest airline, IndiGo, faced major disruptions, including flight delays and cancellations, reportedly due to crew shortages following the implementation of new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) regulations.

IndiGo operates around 2,300 flights a day and has been cancelling hundreds of flights over the last four days as it struggles to secure an adequate crew to operate its widespread and dense network.

Here's all the latest you must know about IndiGo fiasco:

1. IndiGo cancelled all domestic flights till Friday midnight departing from Delhi Airport and acknowledged that it was the most severely affected day, with over 1,000 cancellations.

2. The Delhi Airport advisory stated that flight operations are now "getting back to normalcy" and advised passengers to check the status before leaving home for their flight.

Also Read | IndiGo Flights LIVE: Coaches increased in premium trains amid airline's crisis

"We are glad to update that Indigo flight operations are now steadily resuming and getting back to normalcy following the brief disruption. Please check the status of your booking and flight before leaving from home," Delhi Airport said.

3. Meanwhile, airfares reached levels never seen before on Friday, with a one-way one-stop economy-class SpiceJet Kolkata-Mumbai flight ticket for December 6 costing up to ₹90,000, and a similar ticket of Air India for Mumbai-Bhubaneswar going up to ₹84,485, according to the airlines' websites, reported PTI.

"The last-minute fares are generally 2-3 times of the normal average fares. But in this situation, we have seen them surging even six times," a source was quoted by PTI as saying.

"If a ₹10,000 ticket is being sold at ₹60,000, at any place, I would call it black marketing, profiteering. So there is a dire need to look at it," said Nomad Travel CEO and Travel Agents' Association of India former president, Ajay Prakash.

Also Read | IndiGo Flights LIVE: 7 arrivals, 12 departures cancelled at Ahmedabad airport

4. IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers extended an apology on Friday over "severe operational disruptions." He categorically stated that things are expected to return to normal between December 10 and 15. He said flight cancellations on Saturday are expected to be below 1000.

"December 5 was the most severely impacted day, with the number of cancellations well over 1000. I extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience it has caused to our customers. It will take some time to return to a full normal situation, which we do anticipate between 10-15 December," Elbers said in a video message.

5. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu held IndiGo's mismanagement regarding its crew, with respect to the new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), responsible for the disruption of its operations.

He told ANI, "From November 1, the DGCA came up with new FDTL (flight duty time limitation) regulations. The Ministry also initiated a continuous engagement process with the airlines for at least 6 months."

"Previously, there was no issue regarding the new FDTL norm. Other airlines, including Air India and Spice Jet, have adjusted. However, what has unfolded is due to mismanagement by IndiGo regarding its crew," he said.

Also Read | IndiGo flight ops steadily resuming: Delhi airport after airline's disruptions

6. Meanwhile, aviation expert Subhash Goyal explained the possible reason behind IndiGo's troubles. He said, "All airlines were instructed more than a year ago to recruit more pilots and staff and prepare for the new regulations."

"Airlines like Akasa, SpiceJet, Air India, and Air India Express all complied. However, IndiGo not only disobeyed the regulations, but also expanded its international route network and increased domestic flights without increasing crew and pilots," he said.

Also Read | Who is Rahul Bhatia, what is his net worth as IndiGo crisis deepens

"As a result, when the government wanted to enforce the policy deadline, IndiGo, instead of reducing some of its flights, grounded most of its flights... It created complete chaos...," the expert explained.

7. In the wake of massive disruptions, the government gave certain abeyance regarding FDTL norms to IndiGo to ensure normalcy.

IndiGo was granted a one-time exemption from the DGCA's pilot night duty rules until February 10, 2026. This exemption allows IndiGo to bypass stricter flight duty and rest period norms, specifically those related to night duty between 0000 and 0650 hours and to night operations.

The DGCA also withdrew the rule that had restricted airlines from counting pilot leave as part of their weekly rest.

8. Naidu said a committee was formed to look into the disruption and inquire where things went wrong. "Whoever is responsible for the present situation needs to pay for it," he told ANI.

"Since we have observed this only with IndiGo, we have formed a committee which will inquire into all this so that they can establish where things went wrong and who did it wrong. We will take the necessary action on that as well. This thing shouldn't be left unattended. We are taking strict action on this, so that whoever was responsible for this needs to pay for it," Naidu said.

9. In view of the surge in passenger demand following widespread flight cancellations, the Indian Railways deployed 116 additional coaches in 37 premium trains operating over 114 enhanced trips across the country.

A press statement from the Railway Ministry said that the Southern Railway (SR) has carried out the highest number of augmentations, enhancing capacity in 18 trains.

"Additional Chair Car and Sleeper Class coaches have been deployed on high-demand routes," the note said.

Meanwhile, the Western Railway (WR) increased four high-demand trains by adding 3AC and 2AC coaches and the augmentations, effective from December 6, cater to strong passenger movement from western regions to the national capital.

Talking about the arrangements done by the Eastern Railway (ER), the ministry informed that it has implemented augmentations in three key trains, adding Sleeper Class coaches over six trips on December 7 and 8, meeting increased regional and inter-state travel demand in the east.

Also Read | IndiGo crisis: Govt orders high-level inquiry as disruptions persist

10. Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Friday addressed the increasing air fares amid the nationwide IndiGo flight delays and cancellations. She slammed the aviation sector, stating that airlines are operating arbitrarily and urging the government to intervene.

"It is being seen that there is a huge increase in air fares. Airlines are operating in an arbitrary manner... The government should intervene in this... And if the government does not intervene, then this kind of attitude will continue...," the SP MP was quoted as saying.

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