India’s air travel sector faced yet another day of major disruption on 4 December, as IndiGo cancelled more than 300 domestic and international flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country. This marks the third consecutive day of flight chaos for the airline, triggering widespread anger online over delays, cancellations and lack of communication.
Among those affected was Arun Prabhudesai, founder and CEO of Armoks Media, who posted a viral video on X (formerly Twitter) after his repeatedly delayed Pune–Delhi flight left passengers with no clear answers.
CEO Slams IndiGo Over ‘Zero Clarity’
Calling out the airline’s operations, he wrote:
“SHAME ON YOU IndiGo6E. One of my biggest events of the year is in danger of getting cancelled because of your absolute incompetence… Every time we ask the crew if the flight will actually take off or get cancelled, there’s zero clarity. No answers, no accountability.”
His flight, first scheduled for 1:05 pm, was pushed to 1:25 pm, then 3:30 pm, and eventually 6 pm. Prabhudesai claimed that the uncertainty put his major event — and lakhs spent on it — at risk. Several other passengers shared similar experiences online, with many pointing to severe crew shortages and new DGCA norms that have stalled operations.
IndiGo Issues Fresh Apology, Promises Automatic Refunds
On Friday, IndiGo issued an apology to passengers impacted by disruptions on domestic flights departing from Delhi. The statement said:
“We will ensure that all refunds of your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment.”
The airline added that it has arranged thousands of hotel rooms across different cities, along with surface transport, to support stranded customers and minimise inconvenience.
Some social media users, however, questioned why affected passengers were not exploring alternative travel options sooner.
IndiGo CEO Responds As DGCA Launches Probe
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers separately acknowledged the crisis, saying the airline failed to deliver the experience it promises to its 380,000 daily flyers. He attributed the cascading delays to a combination of tech glitches, weather issues, aviation congestion and implementation of revised crew duty-time (FDTL) norms.
Meanwhile, the DGCA has initiated a probe into the large-scale disruptions. IndiGo has sought 48 hours to stabilise flight schedules and restore operations to normal.
