The Indigo flight disruption reached Parliament on Friday with Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi moving a notice in the Rajya Sabha asking Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu to make a statement on the Indigo airline disruption causing serious inconvenience to passengers across the country.
IndiGo canceled hundreds of flights this week due to crew shortages, and the private airline has now told India’s aviation regulator it expects to return to normal operations by February 10.
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The flight disruption entered the fourth day after 550 flights were canceled on Thursday.
In her announcement, Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote, “I hereby notify under Article 180 of the Rules of Procedure and Business of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) my intention to bring the following matter of urgent public importance to the attention of the Minister for Civil Aviation,” she wrote in the announcement.
She mentioned passenger safety and comfort, calling it a matter of “urgent public importance”.
“The widespread disruption of IndiGo Airlines on Wednesday, which resulted in severe delays of up to seven hours and cancellation of more than 70 flights across the country, including major airports like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, was due to acute crew shortage and other operational problems. The situation led to serious inconvenience for passengers, with several key domestic routes and international flights such as Mumdivesi being severely affected during flights,” it said.
The disruption continued for a fourth day on Friday. Early morning flights from Delhi to Pune were among the cancellations.
“This matter is of urgent public importance as thousands of passengers have been stranded, normal airport operations have been affected and recurring widespread disruptions to air services highlight the need for immediate government intervention, accountability measures and safeguards to prevent future occurrences. I request the minister to address this matter as soon as possible,” she added.
Read also | IndiGo Flight Status Today: Disruption Enters Fourth Day – Top 10 Updates
After a detailed DGCA-led review meeting with IndiGo’s top management, the regulator said that to reduce passenger inconvenience while maintaining safety margins, IndiGo has sought operational deviations or exemptions from specific provisions of the FDTL for the operation of the A320 till February 10, 2026.
Rahul questions ‘monopoly model’
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday slammed the Center over IndiGo’s operational disruptions and flight cancellations, attributing the problems to a “monopoly model”.
In X’s post, Rahul Gandhi attributed the recent disruption of the aviation sector to a monopoly and demanded “fair competition” in the market.
This matter is of urgent importance to the public as thousands of passengers are stranded.
“The IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this government monopoly model. Once again, it is ordinary Indians who will pay the price – in delays, cancellations and powerlessness. India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies,” the Congressman wrote.
IndiGo has seen a surge in flight cancellations reaching around 170-200 flights per day, significantly more than usual, raising concerns about passenger safety and comfort.
