IndiGo mayhem continues: 31 flights cancelled at Chennai airport yet again

Air passengers continued to suffer at Chennai airport on Friday (December 5, 2025) as IndiGo cancelled 31 flights.

Officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said IndiGo had written to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) authorities at Chennai airport, asking them to stop all departing passengers from entering the terminal until 6 p.m., as most of the base-flight passengers were still in the check-in and boarding areas. On Thursday (December 4), too, 31 flights were cancelled at Chennai airport.

Officials said from 2.30 a.m. until 8.30 p.m., 20 departure flights scheduled from Chennai airport to New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Pune, Kochi, Bengaluru, Singapore, Mumbai, Coimbatore, and Port Blair have been cancelled. Eleven arrival flights from Bengaluru, Hindon, Kolkata, Jaipur, New Delhi, and Mumbai have also been cancelled citing operational reasons.

All flights to Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad scheduled for departure till 6 p.m. stand cancelled, officials said.

This flurry of IndiGo flight cancellations across the country has been triggered by poor planning of pilot rostering. From November 1, the new rules for rest and duty hours for pilots came into effect.

In a statement issued late on Thursday night, the airline said: “The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events. IndiGo teams are working diligently and making all efforts with the support of MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI and airport operators to reduce the cascading impact of these delays and restore normalcy.”

“We continue to keep our customers apprised of any changes to their scheduled flights and advise them to check the latest status at https://www.goindigo.in/check-flight-status.html before heading to the airport. IndiGo deeply regrets the inconvenience caused and remains focused on streamlining its operations at the earliest,” it further said.