IndiGo Flights: After DGCA's Intervention, IndiGo Reduces Flights, Focusing on Busy Airports; Maximum Cuts at These Airports

IndiGo Flights: Following directives from the government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's largest airline, IndiGo, has reduced its domestic flight operations by approximately 10%. This resulted in a reduction of about 130 flights daily across 94 routes. This move comes after a major operational disruption that led to the cancellation of thousands of flights in a few days, prompting aviation authorities to intervene.

No Impact on India's Busiest Routes

Despite the overall reduction, IndiGo has completely protected its highest-frequency and most profitable routes. There have been no cuts in flight frequency on key routes like Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, and Mumbai-Bengaluru. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that these routes are operating at full capacity. The Delhi-Mumbai sector alone sees up to 20 flights daily.

Bengaluru Airport Sees the Biggest Cuts

Among India's busiest airports, Bengaluru bore the brunt of the cuts. On December 29 alone, IndiGo reduced 52 flights at Bengaluru – 26 departures and 26 arrivals. This is the largest reduction at any airport in the country.

After Bengaluru, Hyderabad saw a reduction of 34 flights, and Chennai saw a reduction of 32 flights. Significant cuts were also made at Kolkata and Ahmedabad, with 22 flights removed from the schedule at each airport.

Delhi and Mumbai Largely Unaffected

Interestingly, IndiGo's two largest hubs, Delhi and Mumbai, remained largely unaffected by these cuts. No flights were cancelled in Delhi, while only two flights were cancelled in Mumbai. One arrival and one departure flight were canceled in Mumbai. It's worth noting that a significant portion of the cuts were on short-haul routes. The Chennai-Madurai and Madurai-Chennai routes saw the most cancellations, with five flights each. Some routes saw four or three flights canceled, while 72 routes had only one flight canceled. As part of this restructuring, IndiGo completely suspended service on four routes that day: Goa-Surat, Surat-Goa, Chennai-Durgapur, and Durgapur-Chennai.