IndiGo crisis continues: Now, Madinah-Hyderabad flight diverted to Ahmedabad after bomb threat

As if troubles for domestic carrier IndiGo were not enough since the passed week, wherein the airline has had to cancel hundreds of flights due to staff crunch, the Gurugram-based airline’s flight from Madinah in Saudi Arabia to Hyderabad was diverted to Ahmedabad on December 4 following a bomb threat, police officials said.

The flight landed safely at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here around 12:30 pm, and all passengers and crew were deboarded to conduct a thorough search of the plane, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Atul Bansal.

The domestic airline has been struggling to secure the required crew to operate flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots. “IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru,” a source told PTI.
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While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, the source said.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, the source said.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi Airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, “The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day.”

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The airline’s On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7% at six key airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

“IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports,” a source had told PTI on December 4.

DGCA has already said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots’ body Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, “inexplicably” adopted a “hiring freeze.”

FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, DGCA, not to approve airlines’ seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services “safely and reliably” in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.