IndiGo has launched a series of passenger support measures following massive flight cancellations that have left thousands stranded across India this week. The airline’s disruptions peaked on Friday, grounding hundreds of flights from major airports including Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, with Delhi Airport suspending all IndiGo departures until 23:59, impacting roughly 235 flights alone.
In a public statement, IndiGo acknowledged the severity of the crisis, attributing it to efforts to “reboot operations” and apologised for the distress faced by passengers. To mitigate inconvenience, the airline announced automatic refunds for cancelled flights, full waivers on rescheduling and cancellation fees for travel between December 5 and December 15, and arranged thousands of hotel rooms in multiple cities. Additional measures include ground transportation to hotels or alternate flights, food and snacks at airports, lounge access for senior citizens, and increased customer support staffing. IndiGo’s AI assistant, 6Eskai, is being deployed to help with rebooking and updates, and passengers were advised not to visit airports if their flight is cancelled.
The operational meltdown is attributed to a combination of factors: a pilot shortage, delays from an Airbus A320 software glitch, and stricter enforcement of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), which reduces late-night flights to curb crew fatigue. The DGCA has intervened, retracting the provision preventing weekly rest from being substituted with leave, granting airlines greater rostering flexibility to return pilots to duty sooner.
IndiGo stressed that recovery would be gradual and requested cooperation from passengers, noting that operations will not stabilize overnight. With tens of thousands of travellers affected, the coming days will test the airline’s ability to restore trust and bring its network back to normal functionality, while passengers are urged to check flight status before leaving home in anticipation of further delays.