Govt Says IndiGo Must Cut Flight Ops By 10%: What Does This Mean For Holiday Travel
Government orders IndiGo to reduce flights by 10%; travellers worry about cancellations as airlines scramble to absorb capacity.
The Gist
IndiGo's Flight Cancellations Cause Major Disruptions
- Over 400 flights cancelled, primarily affecting major cities like Delhi and Bengaluru.
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation mandates a 10% reduction in IndiGo's operations to stabilise services.
- Passengers are concerned about their holiday travel plans, but experts suggest minimal immediate impact on bookings.
The chaos at IndiGo, and as a result, in Indian aviation, continued well into Tuesday, almost a week after the cancellations by the airline first made headlines. As per media reports, over 400 flights were cancelled, most of them in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.
While the Ministry of Civil Aviation has reiterated that IndiGo will be held accountable, the Civil Aviation Minister said on Tuesday evening that the airline will be asked to curtail its flying schedule by 10%.
“The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before,” Naidu posted on X.
This directive comes after the regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), had asked the airline to cut operations by 5%.
The IndiGo crisis saw thousands of passengers stranded at airport across the country with their flights cancelled. What IndiGo claimed to be a staffing issue has quickly snowballed into a regulatory and operational crisis for India’s largest airline.
The DGCA directive requires IndiGo to formally submit a revised winter schedule by December 10. Only once approved will the changes be implemented.
While IndiGo’s flights continue to be cancelled, cutting down its operations by 10% during the winter season, one of the busiest of the year, could mean fewer flights for travellers. What can be expected in the coming days?
What Happens To Passengers Already Booked?
It is currently peak travel time for year-end holidays, and the immediate concern for thousands of passengers is obvious: What happens to those who have already booked flights for later this month? Will tickets be cancelled?
According to industry experts, the impact, at least this month, is likely to be limited.
“It is not going to affect immediately, which is December, January or February travel. It will be done in the most transitioned way. So the disruption there will be absolutely minimal,” a spokesperson from Cleartrip told The Core.
That offers some relief for travellers already juggling New Year and festive travel plans.
But aviation experts warn the situation could still be turbulent.
“Passengers will be inconvenienced; it’s the holiday season. But it’s a small step by the government to bring IndiGo to heel,” Sanjay Lazar, aviation expert, told The Core.
Lazar noted that the next crucial development will be the revised schedule submission.
“We have to wait and see what flights Indigo will curtail. They have until December 10. Once approved, I suspect it will be implemented in stages—first until February 10, then from February 10 through March 27,” he added.
Will Other Airlines Take Over IndiGo Flights?
The DGCA has also directed that the flights dropped by IndiGo be reallocated to other airlines to maintain seat capacity in the market and prevent fares from spiking.
But the question is: Are other airlines capable of absorbing these flights?
According to Lazar, the situation is mixed. “Akasa has pilots but not enough aircraft. Air India has both pilots and aircraft, but is already stretched domestically. SpiceJet and Air India Express are really the two that can. Maybe Akasa, if it tweaks its network, could do a little more.”
While the regulator intends to maintain continuity, the practical ability of other airlines to operate additional routes remains uncertain—especially during the busiest travel period of the year.
“IndiGo will have to phase out the reassigning; they cannot just switch off a Mumbai–Jaipur flight tomorrow. If IndiGo stops about 100 segments, then Akasa may need to add around five flights. All of that capacity building will take time,” a Cleartrip spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, SpiceJet announced the addition of two new Boeing 737s. They have entered high-demand routes like Delhi–Bangkok, Ahmedabad-Dubai, and Ahmedabad–Kolkata. SpiceJet shares on Tuesday went up by 8% amid fleet expansion.
IndiGo Says Operations Are Stable
On Tuesday again, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers was summoned to the Ministry to provide an update.
“He confirmed that 100% of the refunds for flights affected till 6th December have been completed. A strict instruction to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover was given,” Naidu said on his post.
In a statement issued today, IndiGo announced that its operations have stabilised and that it is working closely with regulatory authorities. Elbers issued a public apology to affected passengers, acknowledging the disruption and assuring that the airline was taking corrective measures.
IndiGo has promised that all refunds and rescheduling will be processed on priority.
“If the airline cancels a flight, they inform the OTAs. Once we’re notified, we receive the cancellation update and process the refund. But this time, because of the anxiety and confusion, customers panicked. They were told by IndiGo that their flights were cancelled, but the cancellations didn’t show up in our system yet,” the Cleartrip spokesperson said.
Passengers who booked via booking platforms had to wait to either reschedule or get a refund on the cancellations until the platforms got a confirmation from the airline.
“It really started with IndiGo needing to get its own house in order. As soon as we finally received the cancellation information, we processed and issued all refunds immediately,” the spokesperson added.
