At first glance, DGCA’s order to IndiGo to reduce flights by ten percent may appear to be a harsh action. It seemed as if the government had put a lot of pressure on the airline. Flights will decrease, earnings will decrease and IndiGo will suffer a huge blow, but if we look at the internal situation, the story is completely different.

The most interesting thing related to Indigo is that the airline suffered almost no real loss due to this order. For the past several months, IndiGo was facing an acute shortage of pilots and cabin crew. Although on paper there appeared to be many flights, the reality was that a large number of flights were being canceled every day due to non-availability of crew. In the last week alone, more than five thousand flights had been cancelled, meaning that the services offered were not running.

DGCA’s order and Indigo’s problems combine

DGCA directed that the airline reduce its flights by ten percent, but the flights that IndiGo removed from the list were those which it was already unable to operate due to shortage of staff. The result was that even after the order, there was no significant difference in the operations. The flights are running as usual, the loss is negligible and the airline has made the matter easier by giving it the appearance of following the rules.

Has the strict action on the airline been postponed?

The buzz in the market is that more stringent action could have been taken against Indigo. Some experts believe that in view of the continuous cancellation of flights and ignoring of FDTL rules, heavy penalty or strict action related to license was expected, but at present the order of only ten percent reduction seems to end the matter. Now all eyes are on whether DGCA will take any further inspection or punitive action or not.

Indigo got indirect relief from the order

It is believed that at present this instruction will not have any serious economic impact on Indigo. Rather, the directive has become a way for the airline to cover up the problem it has been facing for a long time—the shortage of pilots and crew. Now she can claim this reduction as a government order and show that the reduction in flights was her compulsion, not her lack.

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The country’s largest airline Indigo was also seen facing a major operational crisis on Sunday. Thousands of passengers got stranded due to large-scale cancellation of flights and an atmosphere of chaos was created at many airports. Cancellation of flights continues in many big cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh. Passengers say that they are facing a lot of trouble due to cancellation of flights without prior notice.

Many major flights canceled from Delhi airport
Flights from Delhi to many big cities were canceled today. These include:

• Delhi to Bengaluru – Canceled
• Delhi to Jaipur – Canceled
• Delhi to Nagpur – Canceled
• Delhi to Gwalior – Canceled
• Delhi to Chennai – Canceled

Other flights are also expected to be affected.

Biggest crisis at Hyderabad airport, 115 flights canceled

The situation remains critical at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad. Here IndiGo canceled a total of 115 flights today, which include:

• 54 arriving flights
• 61 departing flights

Passengers were unaware of this decision taken early in the morning, due to which long queues, crowd and complaints continue at the airport.

Lucknow airport also affected, queues of passengers formed

There is a situation of cancellation of flights in Lucknow also. Here today 5 Indigo flights were canceled. Long lines of passengers were seen at the Indigo counter at the airport. Passengers allege that they were not given correct information on time.

8 flights canceled from Mumbai airport
Passengers also had to face problems at Mumbai airport. So far 8 Indigo flights have been canceled here. The canceled flights include:

Mumbai-Goa

Mumbai–Jabalpur

Mumbai–Ahmedabad

Mumbai–Madurai

Mumbai-Ayodhya Dham

Mumbai-Patna

Mumbai–Kanpur

Mumbai–Gorakhpur

However, the Mumbai–Bengaluru flight and almost all international flights are on time.

Operation affected in Chandigarh also
3 Indigo flights were also canceled from Chandigarh Airport. Passengers are facing long waits for alternative flights and refunds.

Displeasure among passengers
There is clearly visible anger among passengers due to cancellation of flights. Many passengers said that they were not informed in time, are facing problems in getting the booking money refunded and the fares of alternative flights have increased significantly. Indigo has appealed to the passengers to be patient and said that the situation will be normalized soon.

After the cancellation of a large number of Indigo flights and the sudden increase in ticket prices, the Aviation Ministry has taken a big step and imposed a maximum limit on the fares of domestic economy class flights. This decision has been taken for the safety of passengers and to stop excessive fare collection.

Government imposed cap on domestic flight fares
Amidst the IndiGo crisis and rising air fares, the government has set a maximum limit on domestic flight fares. This rule has come into effect immediately from 6 December 2025. The new prices are as follows:

Distance (km) Maximum fare
0–500 KM ₹7,500
500–1000 KM ₹12,000
1000–1500 KM ₹15,000
More than 1500 KM ₹18,000

The government has clarified that these fare limits do not include Airport Development Fee (UDF), Passenger Service Fee (PSF) and taxes. Also, this rule will not apply to business class and flights operating under the UDAN scheme.

IndiGo announces relief for passengers
Indigo has announced that cancellation charges will be completely waived on all tickets traveling from 5 December 2025 to 15 December 2025. IndiGo has also said that no additional charges will be levied on rescheduling and refunds will be automatically sent back to the passengers’ original payment mode. Passengers will not have to take any additional action for this process.

The situation of flight cancellations still continues
Although the situation is improving at some places, the process of cancellation of flights is still going on across the country. More than 1,000 flights remained closed on Friday and 550 flights were canceled the previous day. Improvement is visible in Delhi, but problems still persist in other airports like Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad, where 9 and 19 flights were cancelled.

Government said- operations will be normal soon
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said that flight operations are rapidly returning to normal and the chaos is expected to end to a large extent by Sunday. He said that a committee has been formed to investigate the causes of the problem, which is reviewing airline operations, scheduling and compliance with rules.

SP MP Dimple Yadav has expressed concern over the crisis of delay and cancellation of Indigo flights that continues for the fourth consecutive day at Delhi Airport. He said that the kind of environment created in the airlines is causing a lot of trouble to the passengers and the government should immediately intervene. Yadav clearly said that whatever support is required from the government to Indigo, it should be given so that the problems of the passengers can be reduced.

IndiGo’s turmoil has affected thousands of passengers at major airports across the country. More than 400 flights were reported canceled on Friday, December 5, 2025 alone. Delays and cancellations over the past four days have caused massive congestion, long queues and anger among passengers. The airline has issued an apology saying that its team is working to normalize operations as soon as possible.

#WATCH Delhi: SP MP Dimple Yadav said, “The way the environment is today in the airlines and the passengers are facing problems, the government should try to improve it as soon as possible. Whatever support IndiGo Airlines needs from the government should be given because it is the passengers who are facing a lot of trouble… pic.twitter.com/VasQJKuSVR

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) December 5, 2025

What does Indigo say on canceled flights?

Indigo has attributed its delays and canceled flights to several reasons. According to the company, minor technology glitches, winter schedule changes, bad weather, air traffic congestion and new FDTL crew rostering rules have had a compounding negative impact on the entire system. The airline also said that it was not possible to anticipate such an impact, hence the sudden pressure on operations. On December 4, IndiGo’s on-time performance at six metro airports was only 8.5%.

Steps should be taken immediately – Dimple Yadav

Dimple Yadav asked the government to take immediate steps to provide relief to the passengers. He says that the sooner the airline gets technical, operational and staffing support, the sooner the situation will improve. According to ANI, he also added that passengers are facing the most problems at this time and the government’s priority should be to provide them facilities. Keeping in mind the interests of passengers, this issue is being considered serious at the national level and updates are being issued continuously by the airlines till the situation becomes normal.

SP MP Dimple Yadav has expressed concern over the crisis of delay and cancellation of Indigo flights that continues for the fourth consecutive day at Delhi Airport. He said that the kind of environment created in the airlines is causing a lot of trouble to the passengers and the government should immediately intervene. Yadav clearly said that whatever support is required from the government to Indigo, it should be given so that the problems of the passengers can be reduced.

IndiGo’s turmoil has affected thousands of passengers at major airports across the country. More than 400 flights were reported canceled on Friday, December 5, 2025 alone. Delays and cancellations over the past four days have caused massive congestion, long queues and anger among passengers. The airline has issued an apology saying that its team is working to normalize operations as soon as possible.

#WATCH Delhi: SP MP Dimple Yadav said, “The way the environment is today in the airlines and the passengers are facing problems, the government should try to improve it as soon as possible. Whatever support IndiGo Airlines needs from the government should be given because it is the passengers who are facing a lot of trouble… pic.twitter.com/VasQJKuSVR

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) December 5, 2025

What does Indigo say on canceled flights?

Indigo has attributed its delays and canceled flights to several reasons. According to the company, minor technology glitches, winter schedule changes, bad weather, air traffic congestion and new FDTL crew rostering rules have had a compounding negative impact on the entire system. The airline also said that it was not possible to anticipate such an impact, hence the sudden pressure on operations. On December 4, IndiGo’s on-time performance at six metro airports was only 8.5%.

Steps should be taken immediately – Dimple Yadav

Dimple Yadav asked the government to take immediate steps to provide relief to the passengers. He says that the sooner the airline gets technical, operational and staffing support, the sooner the situation will improve. According to ANI, he also added that passengers are facing the most problems at this time and the government’s priority should be to provide them facilities. Keeping in mind the interests of passengers, this issue is being considered serious at the national level and updates are being issued continuously by the airlines till the situation becomes normal.