IndiGo resumes 11 flights from Jammu, cancels seven from Srinagar amid rostering crisis

IndiGo resumed 11 flights from Jammu but cancelled seven from Srinagar as its pilot rostering crisis entered the fifth day. Passengers remain stranded amid widespread delays, high airfares, and continuing disruptions, prompting the Civil Aviation Ministry to enforce temporary fare caps

IndiGo, aviation crisis, flight disruptions, Jammu airport, Srinagar airport, pilot shortage, airfare caps, Civil Aviation Ministry, travel delays, India aviationIndiGo, aviation crisis, flight disruptions, Jammu airport, Srinagar airport, pilot shortage, airfare caps, Civil Aviation Ministry, travel delays, India aviation

Jammu: IndiGo Airlines on Saturday said it has resumed 11 flights from Jammu airport, but cancelled seven flights from Srinagar airport due to disruption caused by pilot rostering issues.

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Passengers have been stranded at Jammu airport for five days since the nationwide disruption in IndiGo flight operations. Out of its eight scheduled flights, the airline announced the cancellation of seven flights from Srinagar International Airport.

“IndiGo was scheduled to operate 36 flights from the Srinagar airport on Saturday, 18 inbound and 18 outbound. However, owing to rostering issues, IndiGo cancelled seven arriving and as many departing flights. In addition, the to-and-fro movement of another flight from a separate airline was also cancelled.

“While nine restored services will operate as scheduled at Jammu Airport, two flights – connecting Jammu with Mumbai and Hyderabad — will remain suspended for now,” officials said at the Jammu airport.

It must be recalled that the cancellation and delay of all domestic flights of IndiGo entered the fifth day on Saturday. The issue has affected tens of thousands of passengers who are worried about extended delays and soaring travel costs.

On Friday, the airline apologised for the massive crisis, assuring that all cancelled flights will be refunded.

The disruptions were primarily caused by a shortage of pilots that was not anticipated due to planning deficiencies, and the authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation.

Operating 2,300 flights daily with a fleet of over 400 aircraft, IndiGo has seen its punctuality plummet with the operational disruptions that are expected to continue for many more days.

On Saturday, the Civil Aviation Ministry took note of concerns regarding unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines during the ongoing disruption.

All airlines were instructed to strictly adhere to the fare caps that have now been prescribed. These caps will remain in force until the situation fully stabilises, the ministry added.