Ahmedabad: The ongoing IndiGo operational crisis continued to hit passengers hard on Wednesday, with 10 departing flights cancelled at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport by 8 am, leaving hundreds stranded amid rising uncertainty and poor communication.

Flight disruptions worsened across major hubs, including Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, where passengers complained of missing information, unresponsive helplines, and confusion over baggage, adding to the sense of nationwide aviation chaos.

In a significant escalation, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry early today ordered IndiGo to cut 10% of its total operations, doubling an earlier directive of a 5% reduction.

The ministry said the move was necessary to “stabilise the airline’s operations,” though IndiGo has been instructed to continue servicing all its existing destinations.

Amid the crisis, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) also conducted surprise inspections at several high-traffic airports on Tuesday.

Madhu Sudan Shankar, Joint Secretary at MoCA, who reviewed operations at the Mumbai airport, said the situation was improving but acknowledged persistent delays across Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa, and Lucknow.

“Things are in control… A lot of improvements took place,” he said, while confirming that 780 unclaimed baggage pieces remain at the Mumbai airport, with 90% expected to be dispatched to passengers by tomorrow.

 

Airports have now begun issuing cancellation alerts at least six hours in advance in an attempt to prevent unnecessary passenger movement amid the ongoing disruption.

The government also stated that IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has confirmed full refunds for all passengers affected until December 6, though fresh cancellations continue to pile up. The airline has yet to release a comprehensive plan for restoring full operational stability.