A massive wave of flight cancellations and delays by Indigo, India's largest airline by market share, over the past week has seriously disrupted domestic air-cargo movement, especially for time-sensitive goods such as perishables, pharmaceuticals, and courier parcels - and sent shock-waves through logistics chains across India.
Since early December, IndiGo - which handles a majority of India’s domestic air traffic - has cancelled hundreds of flights per day as it struggles to comply with new crew duty-time regulations imposed by India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
On December 5 alone, the airline cancelled around 500 flights nationwide. This was followed by over 1000 cancellations the next day. The slump in on-time performance - as low as under 20% - has badly strained cargo operations that traditionally depend on belly-hold capacity on passenger flights.
Perishables, Pharma and Courier Shipments Hit First
According to air-cargo industry reports, perishables like fruits and flowers, many sourced from smaller towns and destined for urban markets, have been particularly hard hit. In one case reported in Pune, strawberries from 45 farmers have remained stuck due to cancelled flights, forcing the vendor to absorb losses amounting to several lakhs of rupees.
The pharma sector too is facing delays. With suspended or reduced belly-hold flights, time-critical shipments - especially vaccines or medicines requiring cold-chain transit - are being rerouted via alternate carriers or delayed, raising costs and jeopardising delivery schedules.
Courier companies, which rely heavily on domestic flights for overnight parcel transfers across states, report slower turnarounds and a mounting backlog.
Logistics Networks Scramble
Despite the immediate cargo disruption, some in the logistics industry argue that the effects, while serious, are still somewhat contained. Because many shippers use a mix of dedicated freighter services, other airlines, and alternate transport (road/rail), the cargo network has not completely collapsed.
Ground-handling teams at airports have reportedly prioritized critical cargo - like pharmaceuticals and perishable goods - in order to avoid serious spoilage or delays.
But analysts warn that if the disruptions continue for several more days, the thin margins in temperature-controlled logistics, perishable shelf life, and strict delivery timelines could quickly lead to widespread spoilage, missed contracts and losses - especially for small businesses and farmers with limited buffers.
International Cargo Mostly Insulated For Now
While domestic cargo has taken the brunt of the crisis, international air-cargo flows remain largely unaffected. That’s because on many overseas routes, cargo is carried either on dedicated freighters or by airlines other than IndiGo.
Freight forwarders say they have so far avoided major backlogs or price surges. But they caution that the current resilience could fray if the airline’s troubles drag on - especially if airport congestion increases or handling capacity gets stretched.
Tentative Stabilisation but Uncertainty Remains
IndiGo has said it expects to stabilise operations by December 10, aided by temporary regulatory relief from the DGCA, which has rolled back certain crew duty-time restrictions to help ease pressure. The airline also says it is working to restore its network and resume regular flight and cargo rotations.
As of today, the airline says it has achieved almost 90% on-time performance for its flights.
Still, logistics and supply-chain stakeholders are keeping a close eye: if IndiGo fails to normalise soon, cargo rates may rise, delivery timelines could slip, and smaller players - from farmers to SMEs - may bear the brunt. For many businesses that rely on fast domestic cargo links, the coming days may be critical.
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