India's largest airline, IndiGo, has publicly apologized for widespread flight disruptions that led to more than 2,100 cancellations across its network since early December 2025. The airline expects operations to stabilize between December 10 and 15, 2025, following days of chaos that stranded thousands of passengers nationwide. The crisis, which peaked on December 5 with over 1,000 cancellations in a single day, prompted strong intervention from the Indian government.[en+5]
New Pilot Rules Spark Airline Chaos
The primary cause of the severe disruptions stems from the full implementation of new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). These updated regulations, designed to enhance pilot safety by combating fatigue, mandate increased rest periods, reduce night work, and limit night landings for cockpit crew. Specifically, night shifts for pilots were cut from six to two per roster period. While the first phase of these rules began in July 2025, the second and final phase took full effect on November 1, 2025, catching IndiGo unprepared despite a year-long delay granted by the government to help airlines plan.[en+13]
IndiGo attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgement and planning gaps," along with minor technology issues, seasonal schedule realignments, airport congestion, and adverse weather conditions. However, pilot federations, including the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), criticized IndiGo's "prolonged and unorthodox lean manpower strategy" and alleged that the airline enforced a hiring freeze even with knowledge of the impending FDTL impact. They also noted that other airlines, having provisioned pilots adequately, remained largely unaffected. IndiGo's on-time performance plummeted to 8.5% on December 5, down from 84.1% in October.[thehindu+10]
Thousands of Travelers Stranded
The widespread cancellations created chaotic scenes at major Indian airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. On December 6, for instance, IndiGo cancelled 35 flights at Ahmedabad airport, 41 at Kolkata, 109 at Mumbai, and 69 at Hyderabad. Many travelers faced long queues, accumulating unclaimed luggage, and resorted to protests amid their frustration. The crisis coincided with India's peak wedding season, severely impacting travel plans for many.[en+11]
Airfares on other airlines also surged in response to the disruption, leading to concerns about opportunistic pricing. The Ministry of Civil Aviation later intervened by capping economy-class airfares on non-stop domestic flights in the range of ₹7,500 to ₹18,000, depending on the distance, to prevent price gouging.[en+3]
IndiGo Apologizes, Promises Refunds
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology, acknowledging the "severe operational disruptions" and the inconvenience caused to customers. Hestated that December 5 was the "most severely impacted day" with cancellations "well over 1,000". Elbers projected that daily cancellations would drop below 1,000 from December 7 onwards, with full normalization of services expected between December 10 and 15, 2025.[thelogicalindian+8]
The airline has committed to processing full refunds automatically to the original mode of payment for all cancelled flights. IndiGo also offered a full waiver on all cancellation and rescheduling requests for bookings made for travel between December 5 and December 15, 2025. Tosupport affected passengers, the airline arranged thousands of hotel rooms across cities, surface transport, and provided refreshments at airports. IndiGo stated its teams are "working diligently" to stabilize schedules and reduce delays.[m+18]
Government Intervenes to Ease Crisis
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) swiftly responded to the crisis, establishing a 24x7 hotline to assist affected passengers and ordering a high-level inquiry into the incident to determine reasons and accountability. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu stressed that the government would not ignore the disruptions and would take necessary action against those responsible.[en+5]
The Ministry mandated IndiGo to complete all pending passenger refunds by 8:00 PM on Sunday, December 7, 2025. Airlines were also instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected. The DGCA issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo's CEO, Pieter Elbers, stating the airline "failed in your duty". Ina crucial move, the DGCA granted IndiGo a temporary, one-time exemption from some of the new flight rules, specifically on night duty and FDTL restrictions for its A320 fleet, until February 10, 2026, to help stabilize schedules while maintaining safety.[timesofindia+11]
To further alleviate the travel crunch, Indian Railways deployed additional coaches in 37 premium trains and introduced special services on high-demand routes between December 6 and 10, accommodating nearly 500,000 passengers. Travel aggregator ixigo also announced it would refund the full convenience and assured fees for customers whose IndiGo flights were cancelled between December 3 and 8, 2025.[en+8]
Despite the ongoing challenges, IndiGo reported on December 6 that over 95% of its network connectivity was re-established, with operations "steadily resuming" at major airports like Delhi. The airline continues to work towards full operational stability in the coming days.[timesofindia+7]
