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The Center has ordered IndiGo to cut its winter schedule by 10%, double the earlier planned cut, following a week of mass cancellations at India’s largest airline. Despite the situation being stable, IndiGo canceled around 300 flights on Tuesday, December 9.
The airline’s CEO was summoned by the DGCA on Wednesday, December 10, and a parliamentary panel has summoned senior IndiGo executives for a hearing next week. The regulator has also placed an inspection team at IndiGo’s Gurugram headquarters.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court came down heavily on the government for failing to stop “exorbitant” hike in airfares during the crisis, and directed IndiGo to expedite refunds and compensation.
‘A suitable case for compensation’
Former senior commander Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar said passengers are bearing the brunt of the cascading effect of IndiGo’s operational lapses which have been “visible for months”.
“In a crisis of this magnitude, I would say it was bound to happen. It doesn’t happen suddenly, overnight. IndiGo had the signals in place, but they failed to respond,” he said.
With IndiGo eliminating “400 to 500 flights per day”, far more than the mandated 10%, he warned of significant disruption for passengers holding advance bookings. While Air India, Akasa and SpiceJet have indicated willingness to step in, he said the DGCA is still deciding how to allocate the vacated slots.
Describing it as a “fit case for compensation”, Bhatnagar said existing rules already mandate payment for cancellations caused by exceptional circumstances.
“This is not any extraordinary circumstance like earthquake, political instability or adverse weather. This is entirely the fault of IndiGo and poor monitoring by DGCA,” he said.
He said that many passengers are left without luggage, and the existing rulebook does not adequately address this shortcoming.
‘Fares will increase; ‘IndiGo was misled internally’
Sanjay Lazar, aviation expert and CEO of AviaLaz Consultants, said travelers should be prepared for fare hikes in the short term despite the temporary price cap.
“I expect short-term pressure on rents. I expect rents to rise. Yes, there is a cap, but we don’t know how long it will last,” he said.
He said IndiGo was unlikely to cancel flights with high load factors: “I am sure IndiGo will take a smart approach and will not cancel flights with full bookings.”
However, Lazer said the bigger issue is how the airline failed to prepare for the DGCA’s revised flight duty deadline (FDTL), despite having two years to adapt.
“Clearly IndiGo was misled internally that they would be able to manage the FDTL norms,” he said, pointing to the investor call where IndiGo’s top management had assured stakeholders that pilot availability was adequate, arguing that this claim was unrealistic given the airline’s “thin” operating model.
Should IndiGo CEO be fired?
Experts say the problem is big. Demand to remove IndiGo’s CEO has intensified, but Lazar said it could be legally complicated. “It will be a difficult, lengthy effort, as he may not be the accountable officer on record for the DGCA.”
However, he stressed that the crisis highlights failures across the entire ecosystem – from airline management to regulatory oversight.
“The minister needs to look inwards, he has thrown the ball on his watch. He should have looked at this situation,” Lazar said. “IndiGo’s relations with many officials need to be investigated, need to be cleaned up,” he said.
He argued that the episode demands a “thorough investigation” and the revival of India’s Passenger Rights Charter.
A sector-wide moment of reckoning
Both experts agreed that the current crisis should prompt comprehensive corrective measures for the aviation sector.
Bhatnagar cautioned that even after capacity addition by rival carriers, normalcy may not return before February 10 – and only if IndiGo’s revised winter schedule is approved and buffers are rebuilt.
Lazar called the episode “a chance to restructure aviation.” He said, “It is time for Indian aviation to restructure, clean house and move forward… The entire ecosystem has been compromised and we need to stop this.”
As the investigation gathers pace and IndiGo gears up for several regulatory hearings, passengers, airlines and policymakers now await clarity on how deep the accountability process will go, and whether the crisis will finally push Indian aviation towards long-overdue reforms.