Indigo Refunds Stuck? All About Aviation Ministry's 24X7 Control Room-Over 13,000 Complaints Resolved Thus Far

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Sunday announced that its 24x7 Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR), which was set up earlier this month to monitor and address issues faced by passengers in real-time, had resolved more than 13,000 grievances since becoming operational.

The update comes at a time when many IndiGo passengers, who had earlier faced flight cancellations, are still awaiting their refunds from the budget carrier.

Earlier, IndiGo had announced that it would compensate passengers who had been“severely impacted” by the disruptions, saying that compensation would begin from 26 December.

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A unified response mechanism, the PACR integrates officials from MoCA, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and airline representatives for "on-the-spot" resolution of passenger complains.

The control room leverages the AirSewa platform for tracking and accountability, and puts priority on issues related to flight delays, cancellations, refunds, and baggage issues.

Passengers facing issues can raise grievances directly through the AirSewa platform.

The emphasis on "physical presence of airline representatives" in the PACR is aimed at addressing the failure of airline customer service channels during the early December crisis sparked by IndiGo flight cancellations.

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“The AirSewa system has also been fully integrated into the PACR, enabling seamless handling of passenger grievances received through it. An omni-channel technology backbone converts passenger inputs into actionable cases, supported by data-driven dashboards that provide live visibility on grievance types, timelines and stakeholder actions,” the MoCA said.

"The physical presence of airline representatives within the Control Room allows immediate coordination and on-the-spot resolution of issues," the ministry added.

The PACR was put into operation on 3 December 2025, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said, adding that the control room had also executed 500+ call-based interventions in addition to resolving 13,000 grievances during mass cancellations of flights by IndiGo earlier this month.

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Between 1 and 9 December, IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights due to a combination of factors, ranging from implementation of new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms to operational hurdles such as winter fog. The airline had also admitted to planning gaps, and the overall chaos prompted a show-cause notice from the DGCA.

The PIB release, dated 28 December, comes amid another wave of flight disruptions in North India due to dense winter fog, with IndiGo alone cancelling 60 flights 26 December and now. Akasa Air, too, had announced some flight cancellations in view of foggy conditions, while Air India and SpiceJet also issued advisories for flyers.

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