IndiGo CEO apologises for flight chaos, says ops to stabilise by mid-Dec

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers apologised for the unprecedented cancellations and said disruptions should ease from Saturday, with full operational stability expected between December 10 and 15

IndiGo chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers on Friday apologised to passengers for the trouble caused by the carrier's cancellation of over 1,000 flights today, as well as hundreds more over the past few days.

 

How soon does IndiGo expect flight disruptions to ease?

He said that Saturday is expected to see fewer cancellations, likely below 1,000. However, he added that it will take a few more days for operations to fully stabilise, most likely between December 10 and 15.

 

“Regrettably, earlier measures of the last few days have proven not to be enough. So, we decided today for a reboot of all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest number of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting tomorrow onward,” Elbers said in a video message.

 

What relief has the DGCA provided under the FDTL rules?

He further thanked India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), for providing relief on crew members’ weekly rest requirements under the flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules. 

 

His statements come amid widespread chaos at Indian airports, where IndiGo passengers are facing multiple flight cancellations and sustained delays. The airline operator, which is the largest in the country with around 2,300 daily flights, told the DGCA on Thursday that the operations are being disrupted primarily because of “misjudgment and planning gaps” in the implementation of the FDTL rules.

 

Why were the new crew rest rules rolled back?

It was followed by the DGCA withdrawing its directive barring airlines from substituting leave for crew members’ weekly rest under the rules, which were notified last year in May.

 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched a high-level inquiry into disruptions to assess what went wrong with IndiGo and determine accountability wherever required.

 

With IndiGo’s troubles mounting, rival airlines, including Air India, Akasa and SpiceJet, have capitalised on the demand, leading to a steep rise in domestic airfares, with some ex-Delhi tickets going above ₹1 lakh.