NEW DELHI: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is facing intense scrutiny after massive flight disruptions left thousands of passengers stranded — including 1983 World Cup-winning cricketer Madan Lal, whose ordeal has now gone viral.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Madan, stuck for 12 hours at Mumbai airport, voiced his frustration publicly, amplifying outrage around the situation.

“My flight was delayed by 12 hours from Mumbai. Nobody cares in our country for the people. The airport was like a fish market,” he posted on X, triggering a wave of reactions from travellers facing similar chaos.

The disruption stems from new pilot rest regulations which mandate 48 hours of weekly rest — 12 hours more than before — and limit night-time landings from six to two per week. IndiGo admitted to “misjudgment and planning gaps” while adjusting to the rules.More than 1,000 flights were cancelled on Friday, with CEO Pieter Elbers calling it the airline’s “most severely impacted day.” The situation remains tense, with fewer than 1,000 flights expected to be cancelled on Saturday, signalling slow improvement.In a public message, Elbers apologised and outlined the airline’s response efforts.“Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs. For this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information on refunds, cancellations, and other customer support measures was sent,” he said.IndiGo, which operates around 2,300 flights daily, anticipates “full normalisation” between December 10 and 15, though it cautioned recovery will be gradual due to the scale of operations.Meanwhile, visuals of long queues, overcrowded terminals and frustrated travellers — led by Lal’s criticism — have intensified calls for accountability and better contingency planning.“Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations,” Elbers reiterated.