New Delhi. Following massive disruption and inconvenience to thousands of passengers, IndiGo issued a major update on Monday evening. The airline stated that refunds for flights cancelled between December 3 and December 15 are currently being processed.
Additionally, IndiGo announced that no charges will be levied for ticket changes or cancellations going forward. Posting on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), the company stated, “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to you. Our teams are working diligently to normalize the situation.”
**Refunds Announced 48 Hours Earlier**
A significant change in IndiGo’s latest update is that the airline has advanced the refund start date by 48 hours. This means that refunds are now being issued for flights starting from December 3, rather than December 5 as previously announced. This underscores the magnitude of the crisis. Earlier, on Saturday, the airline had stated that a ‘No Questions Asked’ policy would apply to tickets booked for travel between December 5 and December 15, and that full refunds would be provided.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation reported that IndiGo has so far issued refunds for 950,000 tickets, amounting to a total value of ₹827 crore. The majority of these—approximately 600,000 tickets (worth ₹569 crore)—were for flights scheduled between December 1 and December 7, the period during which the crisis was at its peak.
**Government Takes a Firm Stand**
The Ministry had directed the airline to immediately clear all pending refunds and to waive rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were disrupted. Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu stated that strict action could be taken against IndiGo to set a precedent.
The roots of this crisis lie in the new flight safety regulations issued by the government approximately two years ago. The objective of these regulations was to mitigate pilot fatigue by mandating increased rest periods. As soon as the new rules came into effect, IndiGo—which operates 2,200 flights daily and has historically emphasized minimal aircraft downtime—began grappling with a shortage of pilots. Consequently, hundreds of flights had to be cancelled. Observing the deteriorating situation, the DGCA has temporarily relaxed certain regulations.
**Opposition Raises Issue of Duopoly**
Following the IndiGo crisis, the Opposition raised the issue of a duopoly—specifically the dominance of IndiGo and Air India—within the country’s aviation sector. However, the government maintains that it has consistently encouraged the entry of new airlines and that the sector operates as an open market.
