Impact of cancellation of thousands of flights, Indigo will pay compensation of more than Rs 375 crore

Indigo Airlines, which faced massive operational disruptions earlier this month, is now preparing to provide relief to the affected passengers. The airline will start the process of giving compensation from December 26. Between December 2 and 10, IndiGo faced serious technical and operational glitches, leading to the cancellation of more than 5,000 flights, while many other flights were delayed by hours. This affected lakhs of passengers, who had to face huge inconvenience.

Compensation process formally flagged

Following the latest instructions from the Civil Aviation Ministry, the compensation process has been formally approved. It is estimated that in this entire exercise, Indigo may have to pay compensation to about 3.8 lakh passengers, which is likely to cost around Rs 376 crore. The government says that protecting the rights of passengers is a priority and no laxity will be taken in this matter.

According to sources, the government has directed IndiGo to provide immediate relief to the most affected passengers, especially between December 3 and 5. During these days, passengers who were stranded at airports for several hours will be given a travel voucher of Rs 10,000. This voucher can be used in future travel. Apart from this, under the existing rules, passengers are also to be given cash compensation of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 in case of flight delay or cancellation.

instructions to airlines

According to IndiGo officials, passengers who had booked tickets directly through the airline’s website may get relief relatively soon. Information about such passengers is already available with the airline, so they are likely to get compensation within a week. At the same time, for those passengers who had purchased tickets through travel agents or online travel platforms, the process may be a little longer. The airline has been directed to collect details of the passengers in coordination with the concerned agencies, so that all eligible people can get compensation.

The government has entrusted the responsibility of monitoring this entire matter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). DGCA will ensure that no eligible passenger is deprived of compensation. Also, the Civil Aviation Ministry will monitor the entire process through its Airseva portal, so that transparency is maintained and passengers’ complaints can be resolved on time.