NEW DELHI: Indigo airlines cancelled over 200 flights, and delayed countless others due to a crew shortage across airports in the country on Wednesday. This is the second consecutive day that Indigo is unable to operate a large number of flights.

Sources said, the shortage is due to a massive recruitment drive by international airline Emirates at Delhi and Mumbai this week. However, Indigo attributed the significant disruption to multiple reasons, including unforeseen operational challenges.

Sources stated that there is a severe shortage of both cockpit and cabin crew.

Flyers complained of these undesirable circumstances to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

67 flights were cancelled at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport alone. 13 flights departing from Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport were cancelled; over 70 flights from Mumbai and Bengaluru airports were cancelled till Wednesday evening. Furthermore, flights to Kolkata and Srinagar were also cancelled.

Airline sources said that several Indigo crew have been making a beeline for Emirate's recruitment roadshow in Mumbai and Delhi the last two days.

Aviation source said, “The mismanagement on part of Indigo too is a major reason for the crisis they have been facing the last two days. The revised Flight Duty Time Limitations were implemented by all airlines from November 1. Why is Indigo alone facing an issue? It is because of poor management of the situation, nothing else.”

The new rostering rules included increased weekly rest for pilots, from 36 hours to 48 hours, and limiting night landings carried out by pilots to just two instead of six.