Singapore envoy attends staffer's wedding virtually amid IndiGo cancellation chaos

SIngapore heights commissioner simon zelotes Wong tended to(p) the wedding party of a heights commission staffer online after his IndiGo flight from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi got cancelled amid the carrier’s operational chaos.Wong, who was supposed travel to Jharkhand’s Deoghar for the wedding, shared his experience in a post on X. He even apologised to the unnamed staffer for missing the wedding.“I joined the tens of thousands of passengers stranded by #Indigo. My flight to #Deoghar has been cancelled. My sincere apologies to my young staff waiting for me to attend his #shaadi. Lost for words,” Wong shared through the official Singapore high commission handle.He later shared visuals of himself attending the wedding online, dressed in traditional Indian attire. He also shared a sweet message for the couple.“Distance may divide us #IndiGoChaos, but Spirit #shaadi will unite us. Beta, congratulations, and may your marriage be a happy and blessed one,” Wong wrote.The IndiGo chaosIndiGo has been experiencing an “operational crisis” – as the airline terms it – over the past few days, with more than 1,000 flight cancellations on a single day, Friday.Also read: ‘Mismanagement led to chaos’: What civil aviation minister said on IndiGo flight cancellationsAs the carrier struggled to get its flights airborne, scenes of chaos unfolded across airports in the country, following cancellations at major hubs including Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.The airline, India's largest, has attributed the crisis to a “multitude of unforeseen operational challenges,” also citing minor technical glitches, winter schedule changes, and the weather.However, aviation insiders and regulators have pinned the reason to be the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). The new duty-hour rules, brought in to ensure flight crew rest, are primarily designed to prevent pilot fatigue. The rules were introduced in January 2024, but were not enforced till now. The DGCA has attributed the disruptions to IndiGo's “misjudgment and gap in planning” in implementing these rules.In a video statement, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said that cancellations are expected to be below 1,000 on Saturday. He said things are expected to return to normal between December 10 and December 15.“December 5 was the most severely impacted day, with the number of cancellations well over 1000. I extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience it has caused to our customers,” Elbers said.