IndiGo, India’s largest airline and the who holds monopoly in the domestic services, had its most chaotic day on December 5, 2025, when it called off more than 1,000 flights, over half its daily operations, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at its major airports. In a video message, Chief Executive Officer Peter Elbers apologised in public, citing the crisis to be caused by a combination of factors that included the new flight duty time limitation, technical glitches, crew shortfall, congestion at airports, and weather. He said three main steps are in the works to get operations back to normal and that this would happen between December 10 and 15.
The cancellations started picking up around December 2, with almost 200 flights being cancelled on that day, more than 150 on December 3, and hundreds on December 4.
Bengaluru airport reported 73 IndiGo cancellations on December 4, while Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad reported dozens each, creating complete chaos with long queues and last-minute changes.
Passengers took to social media to vent their frustration over delays in the check-in systems and unavailability of crew, adding to the misery in winter fog and peak travel season.
Elbers attributed the causes to an “accumulation” of unforeseen challenges, notably revised FDTL norms which came into effect from November 1 and which require longer rest periods, with curbs also placed on night operations. IndiGo misjudged its crew requirements under these rules, added to which was a recent software patch on its Airbus A320 fleet which disturbed scheduling. The DGCA observed that 61% of the airline’s 1,232 cancellations last month were due to FDTL issues, calling for a probe and summoning explanations.
Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu took stock of the situation, instructing Airports Authority of India to assist stranded travellers.
In his video message, Elbers elaborated on IndiGo’s response: First, enhanced customer communication through social media, emails regarding refunds and rescheduling, and increased capacity at the call centre. Second, enabling stranded passengers from previous days to fly on 5 December and asking others with cancellations to avoid coming to the airports when notifications had been sent. Third, a complete systems and schedules “reboot,” requiring the record cancellations in an effort to re-position crew and aircraft for a fresh start on 6 December. He now expects fewer than 1,000 cancellations tomorrow while coordinating daily improvements with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA and underlined the frontline staff’s tireless efforts.
