Flight operations at Pune airport largely returned to normal on Friday, with all airlines except IndiGo maintaining their schedules without disruption between midnight and 5 pm. Airport officials reported smooth functioning throughout the day, despite IndiGo continuing to cancel a significant number of flights. During this period, Pune airport handled 31 arrivals and 31 departures, serving 5,122 incoming and 4,805 outgoing passengers.
Airlines such as Air India, SpiceJet, AIX, Akasa Air, Star Air, and Fly91 completed their scheduled flights, while IndiGo canceled 42 flights—21 arrivals and 21 departures—operating only seven flights in each category.Airport director Santosh Dhoke emphasized that all teams, including ground handling and security staff, were fully deployed to ensure smooth operations and timely aircraft turnaround.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol stated that the central government has taken the IndiGo disruption seriously. He noted that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put its revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) on hold and established a 24×7 control room to monitor the situation.
A high-level inquiry into the matter has also been ordered.Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi blamed the union government for the chaos, alleging that unplanned aviation policy changes by the Centre and DGCA triggered the nationwide disruption.
He pointed out that the sudden implementation of new FDTL norms caused a crew shortage at IndiGo, leading to mass cancellations, and criticized the DGCA for rescinding its order only after significant damage had occurred.Despite IndiGo’s ongoing challenges, Pune airport’s overall operations have stabilized, with disruptions now largely isolated to IndiGo services.
