
IndiGo flight cancellation crisis highlights: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers, in a video message, informed that the airline has restored network coverage in 137 stations.
“Today's OTP is projected at around 75%, significantly up from 30% yesterday. The network coverage has been restored with 137 stations operated. Also for our customers, all processes around refunds, luggage, and rebooking are in full swing, and we're reducing the backlog as we go forward,” ANI quoted Elbers.
IndiGo’s operations across the country continued to remain severely disrupted for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday. Airline cancelled over 220 flights at Mumbai and Delhi airports, according to PTI, citing sources.
IndiGo also stated that the number of flights cancelled on Saturday dropped to below 850, compared to more than 1,000 on Friday. Thousands of travellers were left stranded at key airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati and Hyderabad. Many passengers mentioned receiving last-minute updates, poor communication from the airline and having to wait in long queues as flight schedules were affected nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has officially served a show-cause notice to IndiGo's Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers, holding the airline responsible for recent widespread operational disruptions and citing “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management”.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu along with senior civil aviation ministry officials held a "serious meeting" with Elbers to assess the situation and address the issues, as per PTI citing a government official.
Stay tuned to LiveMint for live updates on IndiGo flight cancellation crisis
Dear readers, this blog is now closed. Follow Livemint's LIVE updates on the IndiGo crisis and developments here.
The Civil Aviation Ministry said on 7 December said that IndiGo had so far processed refunds amounting to ₹610 crore for passengers affected by the widespread flight cancellations and delays.
Refunds for bookings made through agents or third-party portals should be processed by those agencies upon receiving a refund claim from the passenger.
For affected passengers who booked their tickets in cash, you have to visit the airport ticket counter where you made the booking. They will initiate the refund once you produce your valid flight ticket and ID proof.
If you made an online payment for your flight booking, the refund is processed back to the same card or payment method used, typically within 5–7 business days.
As per rules, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mandates that passengers are entitled to receive either refund or rebooking, if the delay or cancellation of the flight is cause by the airline.
IndiGo told passengers on 7 December, that they will be eligible for a full refund on all cancellations and reschedule requests on bookings with travel dates between 5 December 2025 and 15 December 2025.
Till 7 December (Sunday), Indian carrier IndiGo said it had on the day cancelled 650 flights but added that the situation is gradually stabilising. As per the airline, 137 out of its 138 airport destinations now operating at full capacity.
DGCA on Sunday gave more time to IndiGo Executives to submit their responses to the show cause notice.
“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted the Accountable Manager and CEO of M/s IndiGo a one-time 24-hour extension to submit its response to the Show-Cause Notice issued on 06 December 2025 regarding recent large-scale operational disruptions and observed non-compliances,” the aviation regulator said in a statement.
ANI shared a list of IndiGo flights cancelled at Pune Airport.
IndiGo cancelled more than 650 flights on Sunday, while over ₹610 crore worth of ticket refunds were processed for the affected passengers, PTI reported.
IndiGo generally operates around 2,300 flights daily; however, on Sunday, it expects to operate 1,650 flights, which is higher than the 1,500 flights it flew on Saturday, PTI reported.
IndiGo will conduct a “root cause analysis” of the flight disruptions caused by multiple factors. The current priority is to stabilise operations, which is expected to be achieved by December 10, PTI reported, citing a senior airline official.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will operate special trains to address passenger rush amid flight disruptions, while extra coaches have been attached to different trains, PTI reported, citing the chief spokesperson.
Following six days of disruptions in flight operations, an IndiGo official shared an update on pilot numbers.
"Our pilot numbers are fine while we may not be have the luxury of having a buffer," the official told PTI.
In a video posted by ANI, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said, “... In my earlier messages, I conveyed that we would be rebooting the system on Friday, take a significant number of cancellations and start afresh on Saturday. That has worked well by operating some 1,500 flights yesterday as compared to only 700ish on Friday.”
He added, “Also, we have been able to execute the cancellations at an earlier stage, so customers don't show up at the airport in case their flights are being cancelled... Today, we realised further improvements of the system in order to reach around 1,650 flights.”
Visuals posted by ANI show Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, where IndiGo travellers remain impacted by ongoing flight disruptions and cancellations.
IndiGo is expected to operate up to 1,650 flights by the end of Sunday, PTI reported.
Following IndiGo flight cancellations, refunds of around ₹610 crore have been processed so far, PTI reported, citing the Civil Aviation Ministry.
IndiGo has delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India till Saturday, 6 December, PTI reported, citing the Civil Aviation Ministry.
In a post on X, IndiGo shared details of flight operations on Sunday.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers informed staff on Sunday that the airline will operate approximately 1,650 flights, noting, "step by step, we are getting back," as reported by PTI.
An IndiGo spokesperson said that the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Limited had met on the first day the issues of cancellations and delayed flights began. The members were given a detailed briefing by the management on the nature and extent of the crisis. The spokesperson noted that this meeting was followed by a session limited to Board members, during which it was decided to establish a Crisis Management Group (CMG) comprising the Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta; Board Directors Gregg Saretsky, Mike Whitaker and Amitabh Kant; and the CEO, Pieter Elbers.
Seventy-six IndiGo flights were cancelled at the N S C Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Sunday, PTI reported.
Around 12 arrivals and 9 departures of IndiGo flights were cancelled today at the Ahmedabad Airport, ANI reported.
IndiGo operated approximately 1,500 flights on Saturday, while 800 were cancelled, PTI reported.
Around 61 IndiGo flights were cancelled from Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Sunday, PTI reported, citing people aware of the development.
IndiGo has cited “a multitude of unforeseen operational challenges,” including minor tech glitches, winter schedule changes, congestion, and weather, as the cause of the chaos.
IndiGo has cancelled nine flights at the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport, Agartala on Sunday.
"Due to the ongoing problem, IndiGo has cancelled nine scheduled flights (arrival and departure) from MBB Airport on Sunday. But it will operate two flights as scheduled," MBB Airport Director KM Nehra told PTI.
IndiGo likely to stabilise operations by December 10, PTI reported, citing the airline's statement.
“You are directed to show cause within 24 hours of receipt of this notice as to why appropriate enforcement action should not be initiated against you under the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements for the violations. Failure to submit your reply within the stipulated period shall result in the matter being decided ex parte,” DGCA stated.
By 10 am, 20 flights had been cancelled at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, comprising 12 arrivals and eight departures, according to Indian Express citing airport sources. They added that the airline had operated 39 flights by that time: 17 arrivals and 22 departures
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will operate special trains to manage the surge in passengers due to flight disruptions, its chief spokesperson stated on Sunday.
NFR CPRO Kapinjal Kishore Sharma mentioned that extra coaches of various classes have also been added to several trains. "The NFR has taken these initiatives in view of IndiGo flight cancellations," he said.
Two special trains, one from Dibrugarh to New Delhi and another from Guwahati to Howrah, are scheduled to run on Monday, the CPRO noted.
"Further, 20 coaches will be attached to 18 different trains to help clear the rush of passengers. These trains are running on different sectors," he added.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday stated that passengers have gone through “mental harassment” and distress due to IndiGo's ongoing operational turmoil and assured that measures are being taken to ensure accountability is fixed.
As per PTI, he said, "All passengers have suffered mental distress and have had to face many difficulties. They had to endure mental harassment because of IndiGo."
"Certain responsibilities that IndiGo was expected to carry out were not fulfilled, and this is what led to the present situation. The DGCA has formed an inquiry committee and set up a control room. It has also issued a notice to IndiGo. Limits on ticket sales have been imposed on all airline companies," he mentioned.
IndiGo cancelled over 220 flights at Delhi and Mumbai airports on Sunday, marking the sixth consecutive day of disruptions as efforts continue to restore normal operations. These interruptions have led to hundreds of flight cancellations and delays in recent days, inconveniencing thousands of passengers.
According to PTI sources, at least 112 flights were cancelled at Mumbai airport and 109 at Delhi airport.
In a new statement released on Sunday, an IndiGo spokesperson said the airline’s Board of Directors convened on the very first day the wave of cancellations and delays began. According to the spokesperson, “This Group has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation and is being constantly updated by the Management of the measures being undertaken to restore normal operations. In addition, there have been multiple telephonic discussions, including with Directors who are not members of the CMG.”
The airline further noted that “The Board of Directors is doing everything possible to take care of the challenges faced by our customers and to ensure refunds on cancellation and offer waivers on cancellation/ rescheduling during the period of crisis”
An IndiGo spokesperson said that the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Limited had met on the first day the issues of cancellations and delayed flights began. The members were given a detailed briefing by the management on the nature and extent of the crisis. The spokesperson added that this meeting was followed by a session limited to Board members, during which it was decided to establish a Crisis Management Group (CMG) comprising the Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta; Board Directors Gregg Saretsky, Mike Whitaker and Amitabh Kant; and the CEO, Pieter Elbers.
The spokesperson further said, "This Group has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation and is being constantly updated by the Management of the measures being undertaken to restore normal operations. In addition, there have been multiple telephonic discussions, including with Directors who are not members of the CMG..."
The “large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning, oversight, and resource management, and is prima facie non-compliance on the part of the airline,” the Saturday notice from the Director General of Civil Aviation read, as per Bloomberg.
The notice held the CEO responsible for ensuring effective management of the airlines, stating, “you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers.”
The authorities asked the IndiGo CEO to show cause within 24 hours of receipt of the notice “as to why appropriate enforcement action should not be initiated” against him for the violations.
“Failure to submit your reply within the stipulated period shall result in the matter being decided ex parte,” the notice further read.
Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday claimed that IndiGo airline's nationwide disruption is the "worst aviation" meltdown in India's history, further attributing the "fiasco" to the Centre's monopoly model.
In his X post, Shivakumar said, "India is witnessing the worst aviation meltdown in its history. Thousands of flights cancelled - leaving our people stranded everywhere. The IndiGo fiasco is the direct result of the Govt's monopoly model. And as always, it is ordinary Indians who are paying the price. "
The notice, seen by Reuters despite being confidential, said that as CEO “you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations,” and it was signed by Directorate General of Civil Aviation official Ravinder Singh Jamwal. IndiGo has not responded to Reuters’ request for comment on the warning.
The Ministry of Railways and IRCTC have jointly established a helpdesk at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to assist passengers affected by the IndiGo operational disruptions and the nationwide chaos, as per ANI.
While speaking to ANI, IRCTC official Shubham Arya stated that tickets are being booked for stranded passengers directly at the helpdesk on a direct payment basis. He also mentioned that currently, two special trains are operating from Ahmedabad to Delhi.
As of now, at Trichy airport, the total number of scheduled IndiGo flights on Sunday has seen some cancellations, as per ANI. There have been 5 domestic arrivals and 6 domestic departures cancelled so far.
According to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), 54 arrivals and 61 departures of IndiGo have been cancelled today at the airport, reported ANI.
Three flights operating from Mumbai to Nagpur, Bhopal and Kolkata have been cancelled, according to News18.
IndiGo flights 6E 6165 (ETD 0945 hrs) and 6E 478 (ETD 1440 hrs) operating from Srinagar to Amritsar stand cancelled on Sunday as operations hit.
According to IndiGo, airline expects to run over 1500 flights today.
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.