Centre prunes IndiGo wings, orders 10% cut in operations

The Centre has asked for a 10 per cent cut in planned IndiGo flights to help restore order at the country’s biggest airline that cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu today said the airline management was summoned to the ministry to provide an update.

Posting a picture of IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers, sitting with folded hands in front of him, Naidu, in a post on X, said, "The ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall IndiGo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline's operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10 per cent has been ordered. While abiding by it, IndiGo will continue to cover all its destinations as before."

The flight curtailment is double of what the sector regulator DGCA had ordered on Monday. As part of the winter schedule for 2025-26, the airline has been operating over 2,200 flights per day.

The minister said IndiGo had been instructed to comply with all government directives, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures without any exception.

The airline, on its part, said there was "steady improvement across the network", as it reinstated flights to all 138 stations. It flew more than 1,800 flights on Tuesday, which would go up to nearly 1,900 on Wednesday, IndiGo said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Naidu said in the Lok Sabha that no airline, however large, would be permitted to cause hardship to passengers through planning failures and non-compliance with regulations. “IndiGo operations are returning to normal. No crowding or distress is being reported from airports. Refunds, baggage tracing and passenger support measures remain under continuous supervision by the ministry," he said.

The statement came amid the government’s crackdown against IndiGo for the chaos at airports after hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers left stranded last week due to the airline’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication.

Naidu said, “IndiGo CEO Elbers confirmed that 100 per cent of the refunds for the affected flights till December 6 have been completed. A strict instruction to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover was given.”

Inside Parliament, the minister said the DGCA had commenced a detailed enforcement investigation. “Depending on the outcome, strict and appropriate action, as empowered under aircraft rules, will be taken. The revised flight duty time limitations, which are at the centre of IndiGo's crew crisis, are scientifically designed to prevent pilot fatigue and are being implemented…. These reforms are meant to enhance passenger safety.”

On the growing concerns of big airlines having the ability to disrupt the market, Naidu said the government was determined to build a robust and more competitive aviation ecosystem. “The government is encouraging more new airlines to start and operate in India, ensuring fair access to airport capacity and eliminating any possibility of duopoly, controlling connectivity and pricing in our skies. More airlines mean more choice, more affordability and more resilience for the passengers,” the minister said.

The new flight safety norms focus on tackling pilot fatigue, a key factor behind plane accidents, by increasing downtime. The implementation of the rules required airlines to recruit more pilots. IndiGo, which runs 2,200 flights daily and has traditionally focused on minimising downtime, fell short of crew as the new rules kicked in. This led to hundreds of cancellations and an ordeal for passengers.