Technical faults cause of 41% flight cancellations in Sept: DGCA

While monsoon weather typically affects Indian skies during this time, this year’s extended rains and sudden storms disrupted flights across multiple regions.

Unpredictable heavy downpours in Mumbai and Kolkata led to a significant number of delays and cancellations.

Operational challenges, such as crew unavailability or logistical issues, made up 11.9 per cent of the cancellations. Reportedly, crew scheduling is a complex task. When delays occur, it has a ripple effect, impacting crew availability for subsequent flights.

Commercial reasons, such as low passenger load, accounted for only 0.8 per cent of cancellations, showing that most airlines prioritise maintaining schedules regardless of passenger numbers.

Commercial reasons rarely lead to cancellations because airlines prefer to operate flights even with low capacity, especially during peak seasons, to maintain brand reliability and customer trust. The remaining 27.9 per cent of cancellations were attributed to miscellaneous causes, which could include security threats, ATC delays, or airport infrastructure issues.

Edited by: Abhijith