Airfares on several major routes surged to extraordinary levels on Friday after IndiGo cancelled all its domestic departures from Delhi Airport until midnight.
The sudden grounding created an immediate shortage of seats, triggering a sharp rise in last-minute ticket prices across the country.
Delhi Airport announced the suspension on its official X handle, confirming that all IndiGo domestic flights scheduled to depart on December 5 would remain cancelled until 11:59 p.m.
The airport said that operations for all other airlines continue as usual and urged passengers to check their flight status before heading to the terminal.
The market reacted almost instantly. An Air India one-stop flight from Delhi to Bengaluru for Friday night soared to Rs 1.02 lakh, while Akasa Air priced the same route at around Rs 39,000.
Delhi-Mumbai fares on Air India peaked at Rs 60,000. On the Chennai-Delhi route, tickets on Air India Express touched Rs 41,000, and SpiceJet quoted as high as Rs 69,000.
Hyderabad routes were also hit by steep hikes. A Hyderabad-Delhi one-stop Air India flight climbed to Rs 87,000.
Hyderabad-Mumbai fares reached Rs 76,500, while Hyderabad-Bengaluru tickets on Air India went up to Rs 41,400. Air India Express listed the same route at Rs 36,100.
The disruption extended far beyond Delhi. More than 220 IndiGo flights were cancelled in the capital alone, with over 100 cancellations in Bengaluru and nearly 90 in Hyderabad.
The situation has led to long queues at airports, extended delays, and thousands of stranded passengers.
IndiGo has been struggling with widespread cancellations for several days. The airline said the disruptions are tied to the rollout of new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms for pilots, which have led to crew shortages and scheduling challenges.
While the rules are meant to reduce fatigue and improve safety, IndiGo admitted that it underestimated the crew requirements under the new system.
In November, IndiGo had already recorded more than 1,200 cancellations across its network.
On Thursday alone, over 500 flights were cancelled nationwide, making this one of the carrier’s most severe operational breakdowns in recent years.
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