Indian Railways runs special trains amid IndiGo flights chaos

AHMEDABAD(Gujarat): The Western Railway zone of Indian Railways is running multiple special trains amid the IndiGo flight cancellations.

Railway Public Relations Officer Ajay Solanki said that they are adding extra coaches to regular trains in order to facilitate passengers. He requested the passengers to take advantage of these services and reach the station earlier to board the train.

“Considering the needs of the passengers, the Western Railways have decided to run special trains. Sabarmati-Delhi special train will be run on 7th and 9th December at 10.55 PM and will reach Delhi the next day at 3.15 PM… Another train, Sabarmati-Delhi Sarai Rohilla, will start on 7th December at 5.30 AM and reach Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 11 PM… The passengers are requested to take advantage of these services… They are also asked to arrive at the railway station half an hour earlier due to possible traffic delays… We will also add extra coaches to the trains to the regular trains- an AC 3-tier coach will be added to Ahmedabad-Thawe junction; 2nd Class AC coach will be added to Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani Express; sleeper coach will be added to Sabarmati-Jammu Tawi Express,” the railway official said.

Since last week, the civil aviation industry in India has been hit by massive disruptions, with cancellations, severe delays, and the rescheduling of many flights by IndiGo, primarily due to a sudden shortage of pilots and crew following the implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms issued by the DGCA last year.

This has led to thousands of passengers facing significant inconvenience, long queues, and inadequate facilities, with some stranded at the airport for hours. Passengers have also urged the airline to provide timely updates and support to minimise inconvenience.

According to airport data accessed on Saturday, several major hubs reported significant cancellations by IndiGo.

Hyderabad Airport recorded 69 planned cancellations, including 26 arrivals and 43 departures. At Delhi Airport, operated by GMR, 86 IndiGo flights were cancelled for the day, comprising 37 departures and 49 arrivals. Ahmedabad Airport also reported disruptions, with 35 departures and 24 arrivals listed under planned cancellations.

At Kolkata Airport, 73 arrivals and 102 departures were scheduled for the day, of which 21 arrivals and 20 departures were cancelled.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has formally issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers–holding the airline accountable for large-scale operational disruptions in recent days and pointing to “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management.”

Meanwhile, the carrier has issued an apology following the disruption, noting that the carrier had “operated little above 700 flights yesterday connecting 113 destinations”. (ANI)