Pune, 5th December 2025: Pune faced major air travel chaos on Thursday as operational crisis at IndiGo spilled over to the entire airport. A total of 16 IndiGo flights, eight arrivals and eight departures, were cancelled, while more than 19 flights across airlines were delayed by over an hour, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in terminals, exhausted and frustrated.
The disruptions began with a crew shortage at IndiGo, but soon expanded into an airport-wide gridlock. Since Wednesday night, nine of the airport’s ten parking bays remained occupied by IndiGo aircraft waiting for operating crew. With almost the entire apron blocked, incoming flights from all airlines struggled to find space to dock, leading to cascading delays.
Airport officials said 11 aircraft were parked on the ground simultaneously, far beyond their scheduled turnaround time. Each delayed departure blocked a bay, forcing subsequent arrivals to wait in the air or be delayed at origin airports, worsening the backlog.
Pune airport authority said the situation pushed the airport’s infrastructure to its limit. He explained that when aircraft remain on the ground longer than planned, they occupy bays needed for incoming flights, restricting operational capacity and creating a chain reaction of delays for both arrivals and departures.
They added that the impact was not limited to IndiGo, all carriers operating from Pune were affected, and that teams were working round the clock to manage congestion and restore normal operations.
The crisis comes amid a difficult week for IndiGo, which has cancelled hundreds of flights nationwide due to crew unavailability. The airline has informed India’s aviation regulator that it expects to stabilise operations by 10 February and has asked for temporary relaxation of rules related to pilots’ night duty limits.
Despite ongoing efforts, Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day of disruptions, with around 550 IndiGo flights cancelled nationwide. At Pune airport, the spillover effects continued to cause long queues, confusion, and mounting anger among travellers as authorities scrambled to bring back normalcy.
