Chaos deepens at RGIA as 92 IndiGo flights cancelled on December 5, three-day count reaches 197

Mass cancellations by IndiGo continued to disrupt travel plans on the third consecutive day for thousands of passengers, leading to sustained chaos at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Friday (December 5, 2025). The airport officials confirmed that 92 IndiGo flights were cancelled, including 43 arrivals and 49 departures.

This followed two days of escalating disruption, beginning on Wednesday with 31 cancellations and worsening sharply on Thursday, when 74 flights were grounded and large crowds packed the terminals amid confusion and a heavy Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) presence. The total number of cancelled flights so far has climbed to 197, leaving terminals crowded and passengers scrambling for alternatives.

Long queues, frayed tempers and anxious families were again seen across RGIA on Friday . With passengers flooding common gate areas , travellers booked on other airlines also found themselves struggling to reach check-in counters and boarding gates, as congestion spilled across the terminal. Amid the mounting chaos, the RGIA police deployed additional personnel at the IndiGo enquiry counters to manage agitated passengers and prevent further disorder.

A family of four travelling to Goa said they were stranded for more than 12 hours. “Our hotel reservation has already been cancelled because we couldn’t check-in on time, and they’ve refused a refund,” said one of the passengers. “We also have return tickets for the weekend. At this rate, we may not even make it to Goa, let alone come back. And the airline is also not assisting with the refunds.”

Another passenger, who had booked a Hyderabad–Bengaluru flight for 1.15 p.m. on December 4, said the schedule changed repeatedly before the service was finally cancelled early on Friday.

“First it was pushed to 10.10 p.m. on December 3, then rescheduled again to 9.20 a.m. on December 5. So today, while we were about to leave for the airport, at around 5.15 a.m, a message arrived saying the flight had been cancelled. All other airlines, as expected, hiked their fares. I was taking my 86-year old mother to a wedding in Bangalore where she was meant to meet her 92-year old cousin who had travelled all the way from Malaysia. Now we are exploring the Vande Bharat option,” he said.

Frustration spilled over on social media as well. “Stranded at Hyderabad Airport for 12+ hours with zero updates from the airline. Passengers are exhausted, confused, and left without any clarity. This is absolutely unacceptable and deeply disappointing. No traveller should have to go through this ordeal,” a passenger wrote on X. Another user shared photos of crowded gates, saying, “Full-blown chaos at Indigo counters. People frustrated with their own delays are now stopping others from boarding.”

IndiGo issues apology

In a statement released late on Thursday night, IndiGo said, “The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted. Our teams are working diligently, with support from MoCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI and airport operators, to reduce the cascading impact of these delays and restore normalcy.”

The airline urged passengers to stay updated on changes to their flights and to check the latest information before heading to the airport.