Govt Orders IndiGo to Cut 10% Flights After Nationwide Disruptions

The Aviation Ministry has ordered IndiGo to cut 10% of its flight operations to stabilise services after widespread disruptions, meaning 400–500 flights will be cancelled per day.

Earlier the same day, the DGCA had already directed a 5% reduction, especially on high-demand, high-frequency routes, and instructed the airline to avoid operating sectors with only a single daily flight.

IndiGo said the disruptions were caused by a pilot and crew shortage triggered by the new flight duty rules implemented on November 1, which tightened rest requirements and night-duty limits, leading to large-scale cancellations from December 2.

The government also criticised IndiGo for mismanaging crew rosters, flight scheduling, and passenger communication, worsening the inconvenience. The airline has been instructed to follow fare caps and ensure all passenger-care measures, including timely baggage return and updates.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers was summoned twice to the Ministry on December 9, where he said all refunds for flights affected till December 6 had been processed and was asked to speed up the remaining cases. He also said the airline was “back on its feet” with operations fully normalised.

In November, IndiGo cancelled 951 of 64,346 approved flights, causing major disruption. In its show-cause response to the government, the airline said it was “profusely apologetic” for the inconvenience, even as a government inquiry into the disruptions is underway.