New Delhi. India’s largest airline IndiGo is stuck in such a chaotic situation these days that airports across the country have become emergency wards for the last six days. The company, which rules 65 percent of the market, was hurt by the weakness of its own model in such a way that the backbone of the industry was shaken. This is the same airline which once made a name for itself by flying on time and reliable, but now the same company is lying in ICU because its planning collapsed as soon as it landed on the ground.
European CEO Pieter Elbers’ lean staffing model, heavy reliance on night flights and maximum aircraft utilization strategy broke down when new rules came into effect and pilots’ rest hours were extended. The airline took a risk and tried to run operations with a minimum number of pilots and the same move has now become a curse for thousands of passengers.
Planning exposed as soon as FDTL rules are implemented
Directorate General of Civil Aviation i.e. DGCA implemented new flight duty time limitation rules so that fatigue of pilots is reduced and safety standards are improved. After the introduction of these rules, the rest time of pilots was increased from 36 to 48 hours. The definition of night flight was also tightened and flying for more than two consecutive nights was prohibited. Due to this, pilots are able to do very few flights in a week. Airlines like IndiGo, which were more dependent on night flying, were more affected by this.
IndiGo should have had at least 2422 captains to operate its large A320 fleet, but the company had only 2357 captains available. There was a similar shortage among first officers. After strictness on the rest of the pilots, this reduction turned into direct flight cancellation.
Six days of devastation and chaotic atmosphere spread across the country
The disaster that started on December 2 turned the lives of thousands of passengers upside down in six days. On Sunday alone, Indigo had to cancel about 650 flights out of 2300. The situation at the terminals of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad became so bad that the feet of passengers sitting overnight became numb. Many people missed their wedding ceremonies and many did not even get help in medical emergencies. Thousands of bags were lying haphazardly in the airport hall.
IndiGo’s market share of more than 65 percent also meant that as soon as the company faltered, the entire aviation system fell down. Other airlines could not handle the passengers and airfares started skyrocketing. The fare from Delhi to Bangalore went above Rs 40,000. The minimum fare on Delhi Mumbai route crossed Rs 36000.
Airline’s late regret
Indigo admitted for the first time on December 3 that the situation was out of control. The company attributed this to the combined effect of weather, technical glitches, winter schedule changes and new FDTL rules. Later the company admitted that a mistake had been made in planning and the shortage of pilots was not estimated correctly.
The company apologized to the passengers and announced refund, rebooking, hotel stay, ground transport and lounge access to senior citizens. But the anger of the passengers flared up further because the airline kept taking new bookings despite the cancellation and sent the flight cancellation notice hours later.
DGCA action
As the situation worsened, DGCA took a tough stance. The regulator sent a show cause notice to CEO Peter Albers and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras and asked why the airline did not make the recruitment in time. As public outrage increased, DGCA gave temporary relief to IndiGo on some rules. Now the company has been exempted from some night duty restrictions till February 2026, which may provide some relief.
Also, DGCA has asked the airline to submit a report on pilot utilization and staffing plan every fifteen days. The airline will also have to explain how it will stabilize operations in the coming months.
Company formed Crisis Management Group
Seeing the situation going out of control, the board of IndiGo has formed a Crisis Management Group. This includes Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta, Greg Saretsky, Mike Whittaker and Amitabh Kant. CEO Peter Albers is also part of this group. The company claims that operations will become normal between December 10 and 15. But passenger confidence is still in tatters because when the root cause is lean staffing and overloaded night flight strategy, the problem does not seem to be ending so soon.
