76 flights cancelled at Kolkata Airport and 650 nationwide as IndiGo chaos enters Day 6

Today, the IndiGo airline's woes continued to ripple across Kolkata and all over the country. 76 flights cancelled at Kolkata's bustling Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport amid 650 flights nationwide. Out of 129 scheduled departures, 53 never left the tarmac, while 23 of 97 arrivals were scrubbed before takeoff, thanks to a brutal combo of thick winter fog blanketing the runways and a crippling pilot shortage from the airline's rushed new duty rules. By 10 AM, 14 of 43 morning departures and 2 of 17 arrivals had already vanished, with just a pair of incoming flights dragging in over 30 minutes late—leaving passengers from all walks of life slumped on benches, kids wailing amid misplaced bags, and tempers flaring in endless refund queues that snaked through the terminal like a bad dream.

The chaos didn't spare Kolkata from India's bigger aviation storm, where IndiGo axed a whopping 650 flights today alone, capping off over 2,000 cancellations in the past week that have stranded lakhs and sparked fury coast to coast. In the City of Joy, flyers vented about four-hour delays on Delhi runs and entire families missing connections to Mumbai, all while fog horns wailed outside and airport screens flickered with apologies. IndiGo's crisis team, led by CEO Pieter Elbers, scrambled to offer full refunds by evening and free rescheduling, but with rivals hiking fares sky-high, many turned to packed trains—Indian Railways even threw in 89 special services to whisk folks away.

IndiGo announces that it expects operations to stabilise by December 10, the airline said in a statement. But the sting lingers: regulators slapped a sharp show-cause notice on Elbers for poor planning, launching a probe into crew shortages that exposed cracks in the system. For Kolkata's flyers, used to monsoon rains but not this foggy farce, it's a wake-up call—check apps twice, pack patience in your carry-on, and maybe root for clearer skies. Until then, the airport's hum feels more like a hold-up, with every delay a reminder that even wings can clip in the chill of winter.