Flying to India? Check with your airline before travelling

Muscat: Hundreds of passengers travelling between Oman and India are on edge as Indian carrier IndiGo has cancelled more than 300 flights over the past two days.

At least 175 flights were cancelled on Thursday, following 150 cancellations on Wednesday across major Indian cities, causing widespread disruptions.

IndiGo operates regular flights from Muscat International Airport to Mumbai, Cochin and Hyderabad. “After landing in Mumbai, Cochin and Hyderabad, hundreds of passengers use IndiGo’s domestic flights to travel to other parts of India,” a travel agent based on Ruwi High Street said.

Ravi Kumar, who is scheduled to fly from Delhi to Mumbai before connecting to Muscat, said he is unsure whether his flight will operate. “I don’t know if my Delhi–Mumbai flight will take off or not. I have a connecting flight to Muscat on Saturday morning,” he said from India.

He is just one among thousands of travellers affected by the ongoing chaos at key Indian airports, now stretching into a third day.

IndiGo — which commands over 60 per cent of India’s domestic aviation market — has attributed the mass cancellations to multiple factors, including stricter flight duty time limits recently introduced by India’s aviation regulator to address pilot fatigue. The new safety norms have disrupted crew rostering, the airline said.

India’s civil aviation regulator has launched an investigation into the situation and is working with the carrier to minimise delays and further cancellations.

ENDS