The government told Parliament on Monday that IndiGo had raised no concerns during a meeting on December 1—just a day before the airline began widespread flight cancellations. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu, responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said the crisis stemmed from IndiGo’s internal planning and crew-rostering failures, not from the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) that took effect in November.
From Tuesday onward, IndiGo faced a wave of disruptions, cancelling over 4,500 flights in a week and stranding passengers nationwide. With the airline holding about 60% of the domestic market, the cancellations had a severe impact on travel plans. Naidu noted that the ministry is encouraging more airlines to increase competition and reduce dependence on any single carrier.
He said 5.86 lakh passenger cancellations resulted in refunds of ₹569 crore. The minister added that strict passenger-protection rules are already in place and that an inquiry has been launched into the software issues that contributed to the chaos. The DGCA issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo but granted a brief extension for its response. Despite some operational recovery, more than 400 new cancellations were reported on Monday. Naidu reiterated that other airlines adjusted to the new norms without difficulty and said temporary relief was granted to IndiGo to help stabilise operations.
