Aviation Minister gave instructions to IndiGo regarding air fare increase, the airline responded

In view of the continuously increasing incidents of flight cancellations and widespread operational disruption in IndiGo airline’s network since the last week of November, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA called a detailed review meeting on Thursday. Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, senior officials of the ministry and IndiGo management attended the meeting.

Minister expressed concern over the seriousness of the situation

The minister expressed concern over the seriousness of the situation and directed the airline to take immediate steps to reduce the inconvenience to passengers and restore normal operations soon. During the meeting, IndiGo presented data related to canceled flights and said that the crisis arose due to the implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) rules, challenges in pilot-crew planning and weather related disruptions. However, Minister Naidu expressed dissatisfaction with the airlines’ preparedness and said that while there was ample time available for the new regulatory changes, their preparations remained incomplete.

The Civil Aviation Minister also spoke to top officials of the Airport Authority of India and directed that all airport directors should continuously monitor the situation and provide all possible assistance to the stranded passengers. Along with this, DGCA was also instructed to keep a close watch on the prices of air fares during the cancellation so that passengers are not financially exploited. He also ordered the airline to provide timely information to passengers about possible cancellations and to provide hotels and other necessary facilities if needed.

170 to 200 flights are being canceled every day

DGCA also described the increasing number of flight cancellations in IndiGo in its review meeting as a matter of serious concern. According to the regulator, currently 170 to 200 flights are being canceled every day, which is much more than normal. IndiGo informed DGCA that it will reduce its flight operations from December 8 and operations are likely to be completely normal by February 10, 2026.

The airline cautioned that corrective efforts are ongoing, but more cancellations may occur in the coming days. DGCA has asked IndiGo to submit a detailed roadmap related to crew recruitment, training, return of aircraft to the fleet, roster management and safety assessment.

The biggest impact of this crisis was visible on Thursday when Indigo canceled more than 550 domestic and international flights. 172 flights in Delhi, 118 in Mumbai and 100 in Bengaluru were affected. The airline, known for its on-time operations, recorded only 19.7% OTP (on-time performance) on Wednesday. The airline’s CEO Peter Albers told employees that normalizing operations will not be an easy goal, but the team will have to make it a priority.