Nine Indian Airports Among Top 10 Globally Disrupted | Check Full List

New Delhi: Indian airports are seeing massive disruptions after the country's biggest airline, IndiGo, cancelled and delayed scores of flights across multiple airports for the third consecutive day on Thursday. Amid the IndiGo crisis, data from air traffic tracker Flightradar24 revealed that nine Indian airports are among the top ten airports facing disruptions worldwide.

Arrival

According to data at 10 pm (Thursday), nine Indian airports were in the list of the top 10 most disrupted airports worldwide under the arrival category. The Indian airports included Ahmedabad International Airport (AMD), Lucknow Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport (LKO), Bhubaneswar Biju Patnaik International Airport (BBI), Jaipur Airport (JAI), Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR), Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD), Cochin International Airport (COK), Goa Manohar International Airport (GOX), Chennai International Airport (MAA) and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI). 

Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) was the only foreign airport in the list.

As many as 17 flights were delayed at Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD), while 15 flights were delayed at Ahmedabad International Airport (AMD).

Meanwhile, Lucknow Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport (LKO) recorded an average delay of 190 minutes.

Departure

Under the departure category as well, nine Indian airports topped the charts for being the most disruptive airports worldwide.

The Indian airports facing massive disruptions were Ahmedabad International Airport (AMD), Lucknow Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport (LKO), Bhubaneswar Biju Patnaik International Airport (BBI), Chennai International Airport (MAA), Kolkata Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), Goa Dabolim Airport (GOI), Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), Jaipur Airport (JAI) and Pune Airport (PNQ).

Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) was the only foreign airport in the list.

Chile's Santiago International Airport (SCL) was the only foreign aiport in the list of top 10 chaotic airports worldwide at 10 pm (Thursday).

What Led To IndiGo Crisis?

IndiGo stated a number of reasons for the disruption of its flights, with the most highlighted reason being pilot shortage due to new Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms. It also cited “unforeseen operational challenges including minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions and increased congestion in the aviation system”.

IndiGo CEO's Apology

After the cancellation of more than 300 flight, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers apologised in an internal letter to company staff. The letter read, “Dear IndiGo colleagues, These past few days have been difficult for many of our IndiGo customers and colleagues. We serve close to 380,000 customers a day and want each of them to have a good experience.”

Pieter Elbers lamented that IndiGo “could not live up to that promise these past days”. He added that the airline has publicly apologised for the crisis.

The CEO added, “We are feeling our customers' concern and anxieties just as deeply. We are proactively reaching out to affected customers and helping them in every way possible to ease their discomfort."

Also Read- DGCA Rejects IndiGo's Explanation On Crisis, Seeks Time-Bound Solution