New Delhi, Dec. 4 -- IndiGo, remained engulfed in operational turmoil on Thursday as more than 180 flights were cancelled nationwide for a third consecutive day. While the airline attributed the cascading disruption to stricter government rules on pilot fatigue, weather conditions and technical glitch, India's top pilot union chief has alleged that the crisis is partly "artificially created" by airlines to pressure DGCA.

By Thursday morning, at least 180 flights had been cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at major airports including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru.

On Wednesday, the cancellations were estimated at over 150 flights. The widening disruption comes just weeks after India implemented updated...