India’s aviation sector has been thrown into disarray this December as IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, faces an unprecedented operational crisis. For over a week, thousands of passengers have found themselves stranded at airports across the nation, grappling with sudden flight cancellations, surging ticket prices, and a wave of confusion that has rippled through the entire travel ecosystem. The crisis, which began in early December 2025, has drawn sharp scrutiny from the Delhi High Court, government regulators, and the flying public alike.
The trouble started when IndiGo failed to fully implement the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules—regulations aimed at ensuring pilots receive adequate rest. According to The Economic Times, the airline’s inability to comply with these rules by the November 1 deadline led to a cascading series of cancellations beginning on December 2. By December 9, IndiGo had cancelled more than 4,200 flights, with disruptions continuing into the following days. Passengers, many of whom had planned year-end travel or urgent business trips, were left in limbo as flights vanished from departure boards with little warning.
The Delhi High Court, alarmed by the scale of the chaos, convened a hearing on December 10 to demand answers from the central government and IndiGo itself. Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela did not mince words, asking, “Are you helpless?” as they pressed officials on why the situation had been allowed to spiral. The court emphasized that the crisis was not just an inconvenience for travelers but a blow to the country’s economy, given the crucial role of air travel in keeping commerce moving. “This has not only caused inconvenience to the passengers but also affected the economy, as in the present day, fast movement of passengers is an important aspect to keep the economy functioning,” the bench said, as reported by The Economic Times and Devdiscourse.
Adding fuel to the fire, other airlines began charging astronomical fares during the crisis. Ticket prices that normally hovered around Rs 5,000 shot up to as much as Rs 39,000, with some routes even seeing one-way tickets priced at Rs 90,000 for economy class, according to PTI and MakeMyTrip data cited by The Economic Times. The court took sharp note of this, likening it to “a pound of flesh,” and questioned why the government had not intervened sooner to prevent such opportunistic pricing. “If there was a crisis, how could other airlines be permitted to take advantage? How can it (ticket price) go up to Rs 35,000 and Rs 39,000?” the bench asked pointedly.
Under mounting pressure, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the ministry and DGCA, acknowledged that the crisis was triggered by a “multitude of factors,” including the non-compliance with pilot rest rules. He assured the court that unprecedented fare surges had been capped and that statutory mechanisms were in place, including a show-cause notice issued to IndiGo. The government imposed temporary fare caps on domestic routes, setting limits between Rs 7,500 and Rs 18,000 based on distance, in a bid to rein in soaring prices. These caps, however, exclude business-class and UDAN flights, leaving some ambiguity about premium economy fares.
IndiGo’s leadership, meanwhile, has been engaged in damage control. Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta released an eight-minute video message apologizing repeatedly and announcing that external technical experts had been brought in to “determine the root causes, and ensure corrective action so that this level of disruption never occurs again.” CEO Pieter Elbers and his team were summoned by the DGCA to present comprehensive data and outline steps to stabilize operations, including accelerated pilot hiring to address crew shortages. The airline also announced an additional Rs 10,000 travel voucher for passengers “severely impacted” by cancellations between December 3 and 5, valid for any IndiGo journey within the next 12 months. This gesture is in addition to the government-mandated compensation of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for cancellations within 24 hours of departure.
Despite these efforts, the operational snags persisted. On December 11, IndiGo cancelled 60 flights from Bengaluru, 36 from Chennai, 18 from Ahmedabad, and 6 from Coimbatore, according to PTI. The previous day, 220 flights were scrapped across major hubs, with Delhi accounting for 137 cancellations. Airports became scenes of chaos, with long queues, baggage delays, and widespread complaints about poor communication from the airline. The DGCA responded by deploying inspection teams to 11 airports, including Nagpur, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vijayawada, Cochin, Lucknow, Amritsar, and Dehradun, to evaluate IndiGo’s operational readiness and responsiveness.
To ease the capacity crunch, the government asked rival carriers like SpiceJet and Air India to operate an additional 160–170 flights daily. Still, the bottleneck at airports and the backlog of stranded passengers meant that relief was slow to arrive. The DGCA also issued show-cause notices to CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidro Proqueras, signaling that regulatory patience was wearing thin.
IndiGo insists that it has made significant progress. By December 9, CEO Pieter Elbers claimed that “100 per cent refunds” had been processed for flights affected up to December 6, and that operations had been “fully stabilized.” The airline stated that same-day cancellations had been nearly eliminated, except for those caused by weather, technical issues, or other uncontrollable factors. Refunds for bookings made through travel partners have also been initiated, though passengers with incomplete details were urged to contact IndiGo’s customer service directly.
While the crisis has shone a harsh light on the airline’s vulnerabilities, it has also exposed gaps in regulatory oversight and the broader fragility of India’s booming aviation sector. The Delhi High Court has directed that an inquiry committee’s report on the disruption be submitted by January 22, 2026. The court has made it clear that both the government and IndiGo must ensure such a situation never recurs, and that adequate compensation reaches all affected passengers—not just for the cancelled flights, but also for the “agony” and inconvenience endured, including hostile staff interactions and week-long stranding at airports.
As the dust begins to settle, the focus now shifts to accountability and reform. The high court’s intervention, government-imposed fare caps, and IndiGo’s promises of compensation may offer some immediate relief, but the real test will be whether India’s aviation authorities and airlines can learn from this crisis and build a more resilient, passenger-focused system for the future. For now, travelers and industry insiders alike will be watching closely as the inquiry unfolds and the sector charts its path forward.
