Patna: IndiGo’s ongoing crew shortage has begun to bite hard at Patna Airport, where flight schedules were severely disrupted on Thursday for the third day in a row. Passengers faced hours-long delays, diversions and uncertainty as India’s largest airline struggled to operate flights with limited staff.
Nine IndiGo flights on routes connecting Patna to Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and other destinations were delayed by four to five hours. One incoming flight was diverted, while another arrival remained without an updated landing time. The delays caused significant inconvenience, particularly for thousands of passengers travelling between Delhi and Patna.
The disruptions were visible across both arrivals and departures. Flight 6E5104 from Delhi, scheduled to land at 10.10am, arrived almost two hours late. A Hyderabad–Patna service, 6E6382, was diverted to Agra due to an unavailable crew. Meanwhile, flight 6E6348 from Kolkata had no confirmed landing time even hours after its scheduled arrival.
✈️ IndiGo Chaos Hits Patna Airport — Key Highlights
- 🚨 Crew shortage triggers major delays — Patna Airport hit for the third straight day.
- ⏳ 9 flights delayed by 4–5 hours on routes to Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi & more.
- 🔄 One flight diverted; another had no landing update for hours.
- 😓 Delhi–Patna passengers worst affected, facing long waits and uncertainty.
- 🛬 Incoming delays:
- Delhi–Patna 6E5104: ✈️ 2 hours late
- Hyderabad–Patna 6E6382: ➡️ Diverted to Agra
- Kolkata–Patna 6E6348: ⏱️ Landing not updated for hours
- 6E6902: 🕔 Arrived at 5:01 pm instead of 11:35 am
- 🛫 Departures also hit:
- Patna–Hyderabad 6E6042: ⏳ Left at 4:45 pm instead of 11:05 am
- Delhi flight 6E6389: 🕓 4 hours late
- Ranchi flight 6E6902: 🕠 Departed 5 hours late
- 😤 Passengers stuck in terminals with long queues & delayed info.
- 🧑✈️ IndiGo blames new flight duty rules:
- ✋ Pilot flying time capped at 8 hours/day
- 🌙 Night landings reduced: 6 ➜ 2
- 😴 Crew rest increased to 10 hours
- 📉 With IndiGo running 2,300 flights/day, even a 10–20% hit affects 200–400 flights daily.
Airport officials said the ripple effects across the IndiGo network were visibly impacting Patna, where queues lengthened across terminals and passengers expressed frustration over the lack of timely information.
IndiGo said the disruptions stem from a nationwide shortage of pilots and cabin crew following the implementation of new duty-time regulations. Under the revised rules, pilots may fly a maximum of eight hours a day, night landings have been reduced from six to two, and crew are now required to receive ten hours of rest within a 24-hour period.
With IndiGo operating around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily — nearly double that of Air India — even a 10–20% disruption translates into 200–400 delayed or cancelled flights. More than 200 IndiGo flights nationwide were affected on Wednesday alone.
The airline said it is working to stabilise schedules, though passengers at Patna Airport continue to face widespread delays as the staffing shortage persists.
