IndiGo Airlines, India’s largest carrier, recently faced unprecedented disruptions, with its on-time performance reportedly crashing to around 10 percent. Airports witnessed absolute mayhem, thousands of passengers were stranded for hours, and the peak wedding and travel season was left in ruins. However, despite the chaos, the stock of IndiGo fell only about 2 percent and showed signs of recovery with decent buying activity within a couple of days.
A Reddit user, Background-Hat2598, shared an interesting perspective on this crisis in the r/india subreddit. In a post titled “IndiGo’s ‘chaos’ wasn’t a failure. It was a masterclass in corporate blackmail and the stock barely blinked,” the user argued that the entire ordeal was a deliberate move by the airline. According to the post, ground staff at Bangalore Terminal 1 — where IndiGo dominates — openly informed passengers that the chaos would last “at least a month,” coinciding perfectly with the introduction of the new Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) pilot rest and fatigue rules.
The Redditor wrote, “Exactly when the new DGCA pilot rest/fatigue rules were supposed to kick in full force… DGCA quietly gave IndiGo (and others, but mostly IndiGo benefits) an exemption from the strict new rules till Feb 2026.” This, they suggest, was not coincidental. The post highlights IndiGo’s overwhelming market share of over 60 percent and its near-total control over major airport slots and terminals such as Bengaluru T1, Delhi T2, and Mumbai T1.
The user argues that IndiGo orchestrated the visible disruption at the worst possible time to send a powerful message to the government: “If you make our lives difficult with these new rules, we will make the entire country’s air travel hell.” Following less than a week of chaos, the government relented and granted the exemption, leading to a resolution of the crisis.
Further, the Redditor contests that IndiGo’s stock behavior reflects insider knowledge, noting, “No panic selling, heavy buying on dips, stock refusing to crack even after what should have been a reputation-destroying few days.” They contend that the airline’s drastic fall in on-time performance from over 90 percent to 10 percent within days was not due to operational failings like fog or air traffic control issues but aligned strategically with regulatory conflict.
The post provocatively asks, “Am I wearing a tinfoil hat or does this actually smell like the most successful corporate strong-arm tactic we’ve seen in India in years?” It calls on those affected by 8 to 12 hour delays to weigh in on whether they believe this was deliberate sabotage or unfortunate circumstances.
For those interested in reading the full discussion and different views on this matter, the original Reddit post can be found here: IndiGo’s “chaos” wasn’t a failure. It was a masterclass in corporate blackmail and the stock barely blinked. Change my mind.
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