India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has been ordered by the government to reduce its operations by 10 per cent following a major disruption caused by over 2,000 flight cancellations in recent days. The directive comes despite IndiGo’s claims that its services have returned to normal. With the airline currently operating around 2,200 flights daily, a 10 per cent cut will result in the cancellation of more than 200 flights.
“The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before. Indigo has been instructed to comply with all the directives of the Ministry, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures without any exception,” posted Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on X.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu tweets, “During the last week, many passengers faced severe inconvenience due to Indigo’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication. While the enquiry and necessary actions are underway,… pic.twitter.com/QT3tuIOp2L
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2025
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“During the last week, many passengers faced severe inconvenience due to Indigo’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication. While the enquiry and necessary actions are underway, another meeting with Indigo’s top management was held to review the stabilisation measures. Today again, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers was summoned to the Ministry to provide an update. He confirmed that 100% of the refunds for flights affected till 6th December have been completed. A strict instruction to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover was given,” the tweet further added.
Earlier today, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said that the airline’s operations have stabilised after days of widespread flight disruptions that left passengers stranded at major airports nationwide, as the low-cost carriers planes were grounded due to an acute shortage of pilots under the new flight duty limitation norms.
Elbers claimed in a statement on X that “IndiGo is back on its feet,” with efforts to restore the network progressing on a “war footing.”
He said the airline is now flying more than 1,800 flights a day, restoring its full network of 138 destinations. “As of December 9, our operations are fully stabilised,” the CEO remarked.
Elbers further stated that IndiGo has “started to focus internally on what led to the issue,” indicating a deeper review of processes and resource planning.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered IndiGo to reduce its daily flight schedule by 5 per cent. It also directed the airline to share its revised schedule by 5 pm on December 10.
“IndiGo has not demonstrated the ability to operate its schedules efficiently,” the DGCA order said. It added that 64,346 flights were approved for IndiGo in November, but the airline flew only 59,438 flights, cancelling 951 flights.
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the operations of low-cost carrier IndiGo are stabilising and all other airlines continue to operate smoothly across the country.
Speaking on the floor of the Lower House, the minister said, “Airports across the country are reporting normal conditions, with no crowding or distress.”
He further stated that DGCA has issued show-cause notices to IndiGo’s senior leadership and commenced a detailed enforcement investigation. Based on the report, strict and appropriate action will be taken.
“No airline, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures, non-compliance,” the minister assured the House.
Naidu also made it clear that the revised pilot and crew rostering rules were non-negotiable.
“Refunds for flights cancelled between December 5 to 15, baggage tracing and passenger support measures remain under the supervision of the Ministry of Civil Aviation,” the minister added.
He explained that as part of the measures to tackle the crisis, “IndiGo was ordered to issue refunds promptly, and as informed by them, more than ₹750 crore has already reached the passengers.” Naidu said in the lower house.
The minister further stated that IndiGo assured full compliance with the flight duty norms and confirmed its preparedness for the winter schedule, underlining that safety in civil aviation is completely non-negotiable.
(With IANS inputs)
