Flight Delays and Cancellations Continue to Impact Indian Flyers in 2024:

Despite ongoing investments in fleet expansion and operations, India's aviation sector continues to struggle with cancellations, delays, and poor customer service, according to a report released on April 2.

A recent survey by LocalCircles found that 61% of Indian passengers had to deal with either flight cancellations or rescheduling caused by internal airline issues. This marks a slight improvement from the previous year, where 74% of respondents faced similar problems. Notably, no passengers reported receiving compensation in any of these incidents.

Low Compensation and Rising Passenger Complaints

Over the past three years, IndiGo provided just ₹18,000 in total compensation, despite disruptions affecting more than 5.47 lakh passengers. The airline’s on-time performance also declined significantly in 2024, while Akasa Air took the lead with an average punctuality rate of 74%.

The survey further revealed that passengers who canceled their bookings themselves were charged 50% to 100% in penalties. In contrast, airlines failed to offer any compensation when they canceled flights, with 22% of affected customers reporting issues in securing refunds.

Government Data Reveals Scale of Disruption

From January 2022 to September 2024, over 25,500 flight cancellations were recorded, impacting more than 10.76 lakh travelers, as per government statistics.

Weather-related issues were cited as the leading cause of cancellations, accounting for 41.56% of the cases. Other reasons included technical faults, commercial decisions, and operational challenges.

IndiGo was responsible for the majority of cancellations during the first nine months of 2024, with 15,464 instances — representing 60.53% of the total. Other carriers with high cancellation numbers included Alliance Air (2,707), Air India (1,934), and SpiceJet (1,731), as confirmed by Civil Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol in a written response to the Rajya Sabha.