India’s busiest airline, IndiGo, is gradually restoring its network after nearly a week of widespread disruption. Six days after a cascade of cancellations crippled operations nationwide, the carrier announced that it had made “significant headway” in resuming services.
Controlling 60% of the domestic market, IndiGo’s sudden meltdown stranded thousands of passengers and highlighted vulnerabilities in India’s aviation system, raising questions about passenger rights and operational oversight.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) said flight operations are stabilising, with regulated airfares, prompt refunds, and priority baggage delivery. “Our 24×7 control room and on-ground teams continue to ensure passengers travel with dignity and convenience,” the ministry added.
IndiGo’s disruption turned into a major crisis across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, with over 1,000 flights cancelled in days and thousands of passengers stranded.
The meltdown was triggered by new crew-rostering rules requiring pilots and cabin crew longer rest, 48 hours weekly instead of 36, and stricter night landing limits, reduced from six to two. Introduced nearly two years ago to meet global standards, the rules were to be implemented in phases by June and November 2025. While Air India complied, IndiGo couldn’t fully adopt them in time.
Over the past 15 years, the collapse of airlines like Jet Airways, Kingfisher, and GoAir allowed IndiGo to expand rapidly into smaller cities, consolidating dominant market share. Its lean operations, though efficient normally, lacked the resilience to handle sudden regulatory changes, causing a system-wide disruption.
“Spent days in same clothes, running out of meds”
While a temporary exemption until February aims to stabilise operations by December 15, safety concerns remain. Passenger confidence has already taken a hit: 54% reported issues with timeliness over the past year, and the airline’s on-time performance fell to 68% in November from 84% in October. IndiGo’s share price has also declined, as investors worry about rising costs from operational disruptions and higher crew expenses. The greater challenge remains restoring the trust of millions of loyal passengers.
Speaking to Asian Voice, Subhajit and Milly Basu, traveling from Manchester to Kolkata via Mumbai on IndiGo, described a chaotic experience. “Our Manchester–Mumbai flight was heavily delayed with no explanation, putting our connection at risk. In Mumbai, our Kolkata flight was cancelled, then rebooked on another service that was also cancelled at the gate. There was no clear communication, and staff who eventually appeared were rude and unhelpful. We faced delays, cancellations, missing luggage, and a complete lack of passenger care. It’s hard to understand how an airline can operate like this from a UK airport.”
Subhajit and Milly Basu described their IndiGo ordeal as a mix of legal, operational, and human failures. They said, “The problems were not just operational, they were legal, human and systemic. UK customer service was virtually non-existent, despite UK261 rights to compensation, care, and rerouting. There was no UK-based team to take ownership of the situation or explain our rights.”
They added, “After successive cancellations in Mumbai, we were stranded and forced to buy last-minute tickets and pay for a hotel ourselves. Both our checked bags disappeared for over 84 hours, with no essentials allowance or clear reimbursement, clearly breaching the Montreal Convention.”
The couple also highlighted the personal toll: “We spent four days in the same clothes and undergarments, and my wife risked walking through crowded airports with no access to clean clothes. We also began running out of prescription medication, which the airline knew about but failed to address urgently.”