Indigo Cancels 500 Flights Monday Govt Signals Penalties

Srinagar- Crisis-hit domestic carrier IndiGo on Monday cancelled 500 flights while planning to operate 1,802 services, the civil aviation ministry said, as authorities continued to track the recovery of operations after a week of severe disruptions.

The ministry said the airline has delivered 4,500 of the 9,000 checked-in bags left behind during cancellations and aims to deliver the remaining within 36 hours.

According to official data, 5,86,705 PNRs were cancelled and refunded between December 1 and 7 amounting to Rs 569.65 crore. Between November 21 and December 7, a total of 9,55,591 PNRs were cancelled and refunds of Rs 827 crore were issued.

IndiGo has faced intense criticism after repeated cancellations since December 2 left lakhs of passengers stranded at airports across the country. The disruptions followed implementation of the updated Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) Phase II norms for pilots on November 1, which the airline struggled to adapt to domestic carrier IndiGo on Monday cancelled 500 flights while planning to operate 1,802 services, the civil aviation ministry said, as authorities continued to track the recovery of operations after a week of severe disruptions.

The ministry said the airline has delivered 4,500 of the 9,000 checked-in bags left behind during cancellations and aims to deliver the remaining within 36 hours.

According to official data, 5,86,705 PNRs were cancelled and refunded between December 1 and 7 amounting to Rs 569.65 crore. Between November 21 and December 7, a total of 9,55,591 PNRs were cancelled and refunds of Rs 827 crore were issued.

IndiGo has faced intense criticism after repeated cancellations since December 2 left lakhs of passengers stranded at airports across the country. The disruptions followed implementation of the updated Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) Phase II norms for pilots on November 1, which the airline struggled to adapt to.

The government on Monday said it plans to take strict action against IndiGo to set an example for airlines that violate regulations, as operations at the country's largest carrier continue to recover after a week of widespread flight cancellations that stranded thousands of passengers.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told the Rajya Sabha that the situation was being taken very seriously and that accountability would be fixed. He said the government would take very strict action to set an example for all airlines.

IndiGo's flight cancellations began after issues emerged in the airline's preparedness for the second phase of updated Flight Duty Time Limitation norms for pilots, which came into effect on November 1. At the peak of the crisis on December 5, more than two thirds of its roughly 2,300 daily flights were grounded. On Monday, IndiGo operated around 1,800 flights but still cancelled more than 500 services.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued show cause notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Accountable Manager Isidre Porqueras seeking explanation for the disruptions. The regulator has appointed a four member panel to examine manpower planning, crew rostering and compliance with the new safety rules. The two senior executives have been directed to appear before the panel on December 10.

The DGCA confirmed it has received IndiGo's reply and is examining it for enforcement action. The regulator said the airline is profusely apologetic and has expressed deep regret over the inconvenience to passengers.

IndiGo has attributed the disruption to a combination of factors including technical glitches, weather related delays, winter schedule adjustments, congestion in the aviation network and the impact of the new pilot duty norms. It told the DGCA that pinpointing a single cause at this stage is not realistic due to the complexity of operations and has sought more time for a detailed root cause analysis.

Government data showed that 5,86,705 IndiGo tickets were cancelled between December 1 and 7 with refunds of Rs 569.65 crore issued to affected passengers. Between November 21 and December 7, cancellations touched 9,55,591 tickets and refunds stood at Rs 827 crore.

Amid ongoing disruptions, IndiGo said it has notified passengers in advance where cancellations were unavoidable and improved its on time performance to 91 per cent. It has delivered more than 4,500 pieces of checked in baggage left behind during the chaos and expects to return the remaining luggage within 36 hours.

On Monday, IndiGo shares fell over eight per cent, wiping out a significant part of its market value over seven consecutive sessions. Moody's Ratings warned that the operational collapse is credit negative and could lead to financial damage due to revenue loss, refunds and possible penalties.

The government has said a temporary exemption from the strict new pilot duty rules is in force until February 10, 2026 to allow airlines time to readjust crew strength and scheduling.

IndiGo Crisis 'Serious Matter': SC

Woes of flyers hit by mass flight cancellations by IndiGo found a compassionate ear in the Delhi High Court, which agreed to hear one of the pleas on December 10, while the Supreme Court termed the consequent chaos a“serious matter”, but stopped short of intervening.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said lakhs of people are stranded at the airports, even though the apex court refused to accord an urgent hearing to a plea seeking judicial intervention into the matter, saying the Centre had taken steps to address it.

When a plea concerning the cancellation of flights by IndiGo was mentioned in the top court, a bench headed by the CJI said,“It is a serious matter. Lakhs of people are stranded at the airports. We know that the government of India has taken timely action and cognisance of the issue.”

The CJI, who was heading a bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, added,“We know people may have health issues and other important issues, etc.”

Over the day, a separate petition seeking directions to the Centre to provide support and refunds to affected passengers was mentioned in the Delhi High Court.

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela listed the matter for hearing on December 10.

Before the apex court, a lawyer mentioned the issue and said there have been a lot of flight cancellations by IndiGo over the last few days, and the passengers were suffering.

“The cancellations are not informed to the flyers,” he said, adding that around 2,500 flights were delayed and flyers were hit at 95 airports across the country.

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