IndiGo attributes chaos to 5 factors; govt vows to set an example
NEW DELHI: India’s largest airline is under mounting regulatory and political pressure after a week of unprecedented flight cancellations that left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded, drew rare public apologies from IndiGo’s top leadership and triggered a wide-ranging government investigation into its operational preparedness and compliance with new pilot duty rules. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is examining a detailed but “profusely apologetic” response from the carrier, as ministers warn that strict action will follow disruptions that grounded more than two-thirds of IndiGo’s daily schedule at their peak and forced the airline into what it called a drastic network “reboot.”
IndiGo submitted its reply to the DGCA’s show cause notices on Monday evening, shortly before the extended deadline expired. The notices had been issued last Saturday after the regulator sought explanations for sweeping cancellations that began in early December and culminated on December 5 when over 1,000 flights, nearly half of the airline’s roster for the day, were affected. While acknowledging the chaos caused to passengers, IndiGo said it was realistically not possible to identify precise causes within the notice period and sought more time, pointing out that the DGCA manual normally allows 15 days for such responses.
The airline attributed its troubles to what it described as the compounding impact of five coinciding factors. These included minor technical issues, schedule shifts linked to the onset of winter, adverse weather that led to congestion across the aviation system, the updated Flight Duty Time Limitation rules that came into force on November 1, 2025, and the operational adjustments needed under the new roster framework. According to the aviation ministry, IndiGo told the regulator that it had been engaging with officials for months about difficulties in implementing the Phase 2 FDTL rules and had sought variations or extensions before the revised norms took effect.
The rules classify all duties between midnight and 6 am as night duty and sharply reduce the number of landings allowed in a 24-hour period from six to two or three. They aim to mitigate crew fatigue and enhance safety but are considered among the strictest globally. Industry sources said the new requirements proved particularly challenging for an airline as tightly scheduled as IndiGo, which has over 65 per cent domestic market share. Without additional hiring, IndiGo faced crew shortages as on time delays rippled through its network, triggering a collapse in availability and eventually the large scale cancellations that paralysed its operations.
The government has already granted airlines temporary exemptions from parts of the new rules until February 10, 2026, but said the relief does not dilute the obligation to demonstrate proper preparedness. A four member DGCA panel has been formed to assess IndiGo’s manpower planning, rostering practices and its readiness to meet the stricter duty and rest provisions. IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras, who is also the accountable manager approved by the regulator, have been asked to appear before the panel on December 10 as part of its inquiry into compliance gaps and responsibility.
Civil Aviation Minister R M Naidu told Parliament that the scale of the disruption required decisive intervention. “We are not taking this situation lightly. We are doing an inquiry and will take very, very strict action. We will set an example for all the other airlines,” he said in the Rajya Sabha. He added that while other carriers were able to manage the transition to the revised duty norms, IndiGo had struggled due to what he called an “internal crisis”. Officials said enforcement action could include financial penalties and even measures affecting senior positions that require DGCA approval.
The financial hit to the airline is already substantial. According to government data presented in Parliament, 5,86,705 tickets were cancelled between December 1 and 7, resulting in refunds of Rs 569.65 crore. Between November 21 and December 7, cancellations reached 9,55,591 tickets and refunds totalled Rs 827 crore. Credit agency Moody’s said the disruptions were credit negative because IndiGo could face additional losses from refunds, compensation and potential penalties.
IndiGo has argued that the December 5 cancellations constituted a deliberate step to stabilise its system. The aviation ministry cited the airline as saying the move was intended to “recover stranded customers, ease airport congestion and reposition crew and aircraft.” The carrier has since been gradually rebuilding its operations. After operating around 1,650 flights on Sunday, IndiGo increased its count to 1,800 on Monday, though it still cancelled more than 500 flights. At the height of the crisis, it typically operates around 2,300 daily flights.
In its public statements, IndiGo said it had recorded steady improvements in the days following the turmoil, reporting an on time performance of 91 per cent across the network. It also said it had delivered more than 4,500 bags that were checked in before the cancellations were announced and expected to return an equal number within 36 hours.
The DGCA said it is reviewing IndiGo’s response and will decide on enforcement measures after analysing the material. The ministry added that given strong public outrage at both the disruptions and the regulatory handling of them, it remains to be seen whether the airline will be granted additional time for a more detailed root cause analysis.
Investor concerns were reflected in markets, where IndiGo’s shares fell more than 8 per cent on Monday, the airline’s steepest drop since February 2022, extending a week of declines that have together erased about USD 4.5 billion in market value. Shares of rival SpiceJet rose 5 per cent.
