Widespread flight cancellations by IndiGo this month have exposed stress points in India’s fast-growing aviation sector, prompting unprecedented regulatory intervention and political scrutiny
Our Bureau
New Delhi
India’s civil aviation system has come under intense scrutiny after widespread flight disruptions by IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, stranded thousands of passengers across major hubs in early December. What began as operational turbulence quickly escalated into a regulatory and political flashpoint, forcing both the airline and the government to take corrective action.
IndiGo acknowledged the scale of the disruption and announced that its Board has approved the appointment of Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by veteran aviation expert Captain John Illson, to conduct an independent root cause analysis. The move followed recommendations by a Crisis Management Group constituted by the airline after cancellations and delays peaked in the first week of December.
Captain Illson, with over four decades of experience spanning the FAA, ICAO, IATA and global airlines, will review the factors behind the disruption and suggest systemic improvements. IndiGo said the review would begin immediately and that a comprehensive report would be submitted to its Board upon completion.
The airline has cited several preliminary contributing factors, most notably the recent amendments to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), which govern crew rest and flying hours. IndiGo told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it was “realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” at this stage, given the scale and complexity of its operations, and sought additional time to respond formally to a show-cause notice issued by the regulator. Other factors mentioned included minor technical glitches, adverse weather and last-minute schedule changes.
The government response, however, has been swift and unusually tough. The DGCA has significantly tightened oversight of IndiGo, constituting multiple committees and deploying officials directly to the airline’s corporate headquarters in Gurugram. An eight-member Oversight Team, led by Deputy Chief Flight Operations Inspector Capt. Vikram Sharma, has been tasked with daily scrutiny of fleet strength, crew availability, utilisation patterns, training pipelines and standby arrangements.
In parallel, DGCA officers are monitoring daily cancellations, on-time performance, refunds, passenger compensation and baggage delivery, with consolidated reports mandated by 6 PM each day. In a further signal of accountability, the regulator has dismissed four Flight Operations Inspectors linked to the episode, underscoring its intent to fix internal lapses as well.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has been summoned before a special four-member DGCA committee to explain the cancellations, while the regulator continues to evaluate whether the airline scaled its schedules adequately after regulatory changes to crew duty norms.
The disruptions have also spilled into the political arena. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram criticised both IndiGo and the government, arguing that the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation should have conducted an impact study before implementing new FDTL rules. “While the airline is primarily responsible, the regulator and the ministry are equally responsible,” he said.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, however, told Parliament that operations were stabilising and that airports were no longer witnessing crowding or distress. He reiterated that safety remains “non-negotiable,” signalling that regulatory tightening would not be rolled back despite operational pressures.
To address passenger anger, IndiGo has offered travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000 to severely impacted customers, valid for use over the next 12 months. While the gesture may ease immediate frustration, the episode has raised broader questions about capacity planning, crew availability and regulatory coordination in a sector that has expanded rapidly post-pandemic.
As India’s air traffic continues to surge, the IndiGo disruption has become a stress test for both the airline and the regulator. The outcome of the root cause analysis—and how its findings are implemented—will likely shape how India balances growth, safety and reliability in its aviation ecosystem going forward.
