India’s skies have seldom seen chaos quite like this: for seven consecutive days, IndiGo flight cancellations and delays have upended travel plans for lakhs across the country. On Monday, December 8, the operational meltdown hit a fresh peak, with nearly 562 IndiGo flights cancelled—Bengaluru being the worst affected. Social media is awash with frustration: stranded fliers post photos of luggage piling up at Delhi’s IGI Terminal 1 and share personal tales of marathon waits, missed connections, and mounting costs.
IndiGo, which commands over 60% of the domestic air travel market and operates a massive fleet of 400-plus aircraft, typically runs over 2,300 flights each day, connecting 90 Indian and 45 overseas destinations. But new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations and crew shortages have thrown a wrench in the airline’s famously lean model. For context, just a 10% cancellation rate at IndiGo can mean over 230 axed flights—far more than what smaller rivals like Air India face.
Regulatory Scrutiny and Mounting Pressure
On Wednesday, CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidro Proqueras are expected to be summoned by a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probe panel. The DGCA has already extended IndiGo’s deadline to answer a show-cause notice until 6pm on December 8, making clear no further leniency will be offered. After a week of turmoil, IndiGo claims it operated 1,800 flights on Monday—a rebound from 1,650 the day before, though still well below normal.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu has publicly pinned the blame on “crew rostering and internal planning,” while opposition leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for urgent central intervention, asking, “What is the alternative for the public?” CPI(M) meanwhile highlighted deeper “structural deficiencies” plaguing India’s aviation sector.
Compensation—But Not Enough
Though the Supreme Court refused an urgent hearing—judging that the Centre was already taking action—it acknowledged the scale: “lakhs of people are stranded at airports.” In a damage-control move, IndiGo said it has refunded INR 827 crore to affected passengers so far, with more claims under process. Yet, individual stories reveal the human toll: stranded in Guwahati, a passenger said he paid Rs 25,800 for a replacement Air India ticket as IndiGo’s help desks and helplines offered little support.
The crisis serves as a reckoning for not just IndiGo, but India’s rapidly consolidating aviation sector, where, as one official notes, “only two major players now dominate India’s air travel—IndiGo with 65% market share and the Tata Group (Air India, AI Express) with nearly 30%.” As inquiries intensify and pressure mounts, fliers and officials alike are hoping normalcy returns to Indian skies—sooner rather than later.
