Bengaluru: Pilot shortage, Indigo cancels 32 flights
There was no clarity on the number of flights delayed or cancelled from the Kempegowda International Airport.
Bengaluru: Indigo Air has been cancelling flights over the last few days due to shortage of pilots. But the biggest blow yet came on Monday when the low-cost airline cancelled 32 flights, affecting the travel schedules of hundreds of passengers across the country.
One of the passengers, Ms Jyothi Satheesh, said that she had a harrowing time last month when she travelled to Amritsar. “We were made to wait for hours. On top of that, we had to shell out more money to make changes in our plan at the last minute.”
Many passengers vented their anger on social media platforms. Ms Oshim Mahajan on Facebook said, “It is my second experience of flights being cancelled by Indigo Airlines and the last time, no refund was received by their end and this time they didn’t cooperate with me as well. They haven’t scheduled my journey to Pune on time. They have wasted my two days. I have missed my important meeting”
She said, “I will make sure that I will not book any tickets on Indigo again.”
The official communication from Indigo said, "Due to a severe hailstorm in North India on Friday, Feb 7, 2019, 11 IndiGo flights were diverted. Consequently, this disrupted operations across our network the following day. As part of recovering our schedule, positioning of the crew and aircraft had to be readjusted. As a result, a number of flights were cancelled. We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers.
There was no clarity on the number of flights delayed or cancelled from the Kempegowda International Airport.
But airline industry sources said that the delay had nothing to do with the hailstorm and the real reason behind Indigo flights being cancelled was shortage of pilots. As per the rulebook, the pilots should fly 70 hours a month, but they are made to fly over 100 hours, affecting their health and their ability to take quick decisions while in air.
An Indigo pilot said, “We get paid well. But what is the use of it. After such fatigue, I fall sick and use that extra money on medical bills."