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IndiGo, India’s largest airline, is facing one of its worst operational crises with mass flight cancellations and severe delays across major airports, leading to widespread passenger disruption and regulatory scrutiny. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation have sought explanations and asked the carrier to fast-track refunds, which have reportedly crossed ₹600 crore, even as InterGlobe Aviation’s stock has come under pressure. IndiGo has set up a crisis management group and launched a reboot of crew and aircraft scheduling, with the management expressing confidence that operations will stabilise around December 10 and flight numbers are already moving back towards normal levels. IndiGo Airlines commenced operations on 4 August 2006 with a service from New Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati. In December 2010, IndiGo replaced state-run carrier Air India as the third-largest airline in India, behind Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways with a passenger market share of 17.3%. The airline became the largest Indian carrier in passenger market share in 2012. In 2011, IndiGo placed an order for 180 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth $15 billion. The same year, the airline got the permission to launch international flights. On 17 August 2012, IndiGo became the largest airline in India in terms of market share, surpassing Jet Airways. In January 2013, IndiGo became the second-fastest-growing low-cost carrier in Asia, next only to Indonesian airline Lion Air. In August 2015, IndiGo placed an order of 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth $27 billion, the largest single order ever for Airbus. IndiGo announced a $460-million initial public offering (IPO) on 19 October 2015, which opened on 27 October 2015.
An official said 48 arrivals and 49 departures were cancelled at the airport
The airline said reduced visibility in the early hours could affect flight operations, leading to delays or schedule changes
Updated On: Dec 21 2025 | 6:28 AM ISTBefore the crisis, the airline operated a total of 2,300 flights per day - about 2,000 domestic and about 300 international
Updated On: Dec 18 2025 | 11:42 PM ISTFrom aviation to finance, regulatory failures marked India's economy in 2025, exposing weak state capacity and the urgent need to redesign how regulators function
Updated On: Dec 18 2025 | 10:06 PM ISTIndiGo has appointed Captain Rohit Rikhye as the new Head of Operations Control Centre (OCC) in place of Jason Herter, the first rejig at the airline's senior management level after the massive operational disruptions in December last year. In January, aviation regulator DGCA took various actions against the airline, including imposing penalties totalling Rs 22 crore and asking dismissal of a senior vice-president, in relation to the operational disruptions. In an internal communication on Friday, the airline said Rohit Rikhye has been appointed as the Head of OCC with immediate effect. He would report to Chief Operating Officer (COO) Isidre Porqueras. Rikhye, who has been with the airline for over 11 years, was serving as Chief Pilot -- Standards, QA & Ops Safety. Meanwhile, Herter is moving out of the airline. According to the communication, Rikhye would lead the OCC, which manages real-time coordination and oversight of flight operations, including flight planning, tracking, .
Hours after a Shillong-bound IndiGo flight was grounded at the city airport following a bomb threat that later turned out to be a hoax, a fresh security scare was reported on a Dibrugarh-Kolkata flight on Saturday evening after a suspicious message was found inside the aircraft toilet, officials said. The IndiGo flight 6E 6894 landed safely at 7.37 pm at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport and was immediately taken to the isolation bay as per security protocol. All passengers were safely deboarded, the statement said. The message, reportedly written with lipstick, was found inside the aircraft toilet, "indicating a bomb threat," it added. Earlier in the day, a Shillong-bound aircraft was stranded at Kolkata airport for around four hours following a bomb threat. The IndiGo flight 6E 7304 was moved to the isolation bay after the discovery of a handwritten note claiming that a bomb had been placed on the plane, it said. The threat, however, later turned out to be a hoax,
IndiGo on Friday said it has been slapped with a penalty of little over Rs 1.27 crore related to GST input tax credit, and that it will challenge the order. In a filing to the BSE, the airline's parent InterGlobe Aviation said it has been denied input tax credit availed, and has received demand along with interest and penalty by Office of the Joint Commissioner of State Tax, (Appeals) IV Bandra, Mumbai. "The company believes that the order passed by the authorities is erroneous and it has a strong case on merits, backed by advice from external tax advisors," it added. The fine totalling Rs 1.27 crore is for the July 2017 to March 2018 period. While noting that there is no significant impact on financials, the company also said it would contest the same before the appropriate authority.
An IndiGo flight operating from Kuwait to Delhi was diverted to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Friday morning after a bomb threat was reported on board, officials at the airport said. Nothing suspicious has been found yet, they said. The aircraft landed safely around 6.40 am with 180 passengers on board, an airport official said. According to the airport authorities, the flight was diverted to Ahmedabad as a precautionary measure after a passenger found a handwritten note on a piece of paper claiming the presence of a bomb inside the aircraft. After being informed about the threat, the pilot alerted the air traffic control and the aircraft was diverted to Ahmedabad. All passengers were safely evacuated upon landing. Security personnel and airport staff then carried out a thorough search of the aircraft. "So far, no suspicious object has been recovered. The flight may take off after getting a final go-ahead," an airport official said.
IndiGo has vacated more than 700 slots at various domestic airports, following aviation watchdog DGCA curtailing the country's largest airline's winter flights by 10 per cent after massive operational disruptions in early December, according to sources. Generally, slots refer to a particular time period given to an airline for takeoff and landing of aircraft. In simple terms, it is about operating flights at the given time. Out of the 717 slots, as many as 364 are from six key metro airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Among these cities, most of the vacated slots are from Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the sources told PTI. As per data provided by the sources, the number of slots vacated by IndiGo is spread over the January-March period. A total of 361 slots have been vacated for March compared to just 43 for February, and this month, the count of vacated slots is at 361. Against this backdrop, the civil aviation ministry on Thursday asked other airlines
IndiGo flight 6E 2608 from Delhi to Pune received bomb threat information upon arrival at the airport here on Thursday evening, though nothing suspicious was detected after thorough checks, officials said. "The aircraft, scheduled to arrive at 8:40 pm, landed at 9:24 pm and was parked at Bay No. 3 at 9:27 pm. Subsequently, Air Traffic Control (ATC) communicated the bomb threat information to Apron Control. The aircraft was then moved to the isolation bay. Apron Control immediately alerted all concerned agencies, and the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was convened," an official said. Following the assessment, the aircraft was thoroughly checked by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), the official said, adding no suspicious or adverse findings were detected. "Upon completion of the procedures, the aircraft was cleared and released for normal operations. The situation was handled in a coordinated and timely manner, and no further incident was reported," the official .
IndiGo is carrying out an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of its internal processes, the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers said on Thursday, against the backdrop of the massive operational disruptions last month. The country's largest airline, on Thursday, posted a 78 per cent decline in profit at Rs 549.1 crore in the three months ended December on account of higher expenses, including Rs 577 crore financial impact due to the disruptions. During a call with mediapersons post announcement of the December quarter results, Elbers said an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of internal processes is on the way, and efforts are being made to ensure continuity and stability in operations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has curtailed the airline's winter schedule by 10 per cent, and now, the civil aviation ministry has asked other carriers to submit their requests for the slots vacated by IndiGo. Referring to the disruptions, Elbers said that when