IndiGo meltdown continued to cause grave inconvenience to lakhs of passengers who were left stranded at airports across India after their flights were cancelled. On Tuesday, over 350 flights to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports were reportedly cancelled. Let's take a look at the latest number of cancellations on 9 December.
Delhi airport: 152 flights cancelled — 76 arrivals and 76 departures
Bengaluru airport: 121 flights cancelled — 58 arrivals and 63 departures
Hyderabad airport: 58 flights cancelled — 14 arrivals and 44 departures
Mumbai airport: 31 flights cancelled — 14 arrivals and 17 departures
IndiGo's massive flight cancellations continued to cause chaos at major airports, including Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, in a post on X, said that a high-level review meeting was held on Monday to conduct a comprehensive assessment of IndiGo's operations. In this review meeting, all senior officials of the ministry were instructed to conduct an on-ground inspection of flight operations.
The ministry reportedly issued directives to senior officers to physically visit Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Guwahati, Goa, and Thiruvananthapuram airports on 9 December to review and assess the overall situation.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s high-level committee has also summoned top IndiGo executives over the massive flight cancellations, India Today reported. The airline's executives, including CEO Pieter Elbers, will meet the four-member panel on 10 December.
In another development, the government has asked IndiGo to revise its winter schedule. The DGCA directed the airline to amend its planned schedule and “submit a revised schedule by 5 PM on 10 December 2025”. Amid flight disruptions and delays for the eighth day in a row, the aviation watchdog asked the airline to reduce 5% of flight operations as a penalty for not operating planned schedules.
The operational crisis at the country's largest airline prompted the government to initiate an inquiry. In an interview with DD News, Minister Naidu alleged that the issue affecting IndiGo passengers was not because of the Aircraft Maintenance and Scheduling System (AMSS) but was instead linked to the airline's internal crew rostering and operational planning.
Winter session of Parliament discusses IndiGo meltdown
During an address to the Winter session of Parliament on Tuesday, Ram Mohan Naidu said that strict and appropriate action will be taken against the airline in accordance with the governing rules. Speaking about the IndiGo fiasco, the minister said, "No airline, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures, non-compliance."
Informing the Lower House that the DGCA issued show-cause notices to IndiGo's senior leadership and commenced a detailed investigation, he added, “IndiGo disruptions are stabilising; all other airlines continue to operate smoothly across the country. Airports across the country are reporting normal conditions, with no crowding or distress. Refunds, baggage tracing and passenger support measures remain under the supervision of the ministry," ANI reported.
The government instructed airlines to cap air fares after ticket prices rose sharply following IndiGo's massive cancellations. "Airfare has been capped at ₹18,000. It starts from ₹7500 for up to 500 kilometres, and beyond 1,500 kilometres, it is ₹18,000," a senior official told ANI.
(With inputs from agencies)
