New Delhi: Under mounting regulatory pressure and continued flight cancellations, IndiGo on Thursday said it will offer ₹10,000 travel vouchers to passengers whose journeys were “severely impacted” by long delays or cancellations between December 3 and 5.
The gesture comes as the airline grapples with operational chaos triggered by staffing shortages and complications arising from the rollout of revised crew duty regulations.
Fresh Cancellations at Bengaluru Amid DGCA Scrutiny
Despite claims of stabilisation, IndiGo cancelled 60 flights at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on Thursday — including 32 arrivals and 28 departures, sources confirmed. This comes a day after the airline scrapped 220 flights across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, with Delhi accounting for the bulk of disruptions.
IndiGo said it expects to operate over 1,950 flights on Thursday, below its usual winter schedule of more than 2,200 daily services. The government has already mandated a 10% reduction in winter operations to help the airline regain control after cancellations peaked at 1,600 on December 5.
CEO Summoned by DGCA
Amid the continuing turbulence, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has been summoned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to provide a detailed report on the airline’s performance breakdown. He is scheduled to appear before the regulator at 3 pm on Thursday to explain the mass disruptions and submit supporting data.
The DGCA has also placed permanent staff inside IndiGo’s Gurgaon headquarters. An oversight unit comprising eight senior captains, along with two government officials, has been tasked with tracking cancellations, crew allocation, unplanned leave, and routes affected by staffing shortages. They are required to file daily reports to the regulator.
Pilot Shortage: A Growing Concern
The airline’s staffing challenges have come under sharp focus. IndiGo’s pilot numbers have fallen from 5,463 in March 2025 to 5,085 as of December 8, marking a decline of 378 pilots in nine months. This stands in contrast to assurances made last year by former COO Isidro Porqueras, who had told the regulator that implementing the new FDTL rules would require only a 3% rise in crew strength.
Other Indian carriers faced similar seasonal and operational pressures but did not experience such widespread disruption, intensifying scrutiny of IndiGo’s internal planning.
IndiGo Chairman Breaks Silence
After days of silence, IndiGo Chairman Vikram Mehta addressed the crisis on Wednesday, apologising for the turmoil. He attributed the disruptions to multiple “unanticipated” triggers, including minor technical issues, winter schedule shifts, poor weather, airspace congestion, and the transition to new crew rostering norms.
However, critics argue these factors do not fully explain the scale of the collapse.
Pilots’ Body Blames Long-Term Manpower Missteps
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo’s current troubles stem from a years-long “lean manpower strategy,” particularly in flight operations. The union claimed the airline ignored the two-year preparation window for FDTL changes and instead froze hiring, locked into non-poaching agreements, and halted pilot pay increases, leaving it critically understaffed.
Passengers Await Relief
The newly announced ₹10,000 vouchers may offer temporary relief to hundreds of passengers stranded or significantly delayed earlier this week, but the airline remains under pressure to demonstrate that it can restore stability.
With DGCA oversight intensifying and internal staffing issues far from resolved, the next few days will be crucial for IndiGo as it attempts to rebuild both operational reliability and passenger trust.
