India’s ongoing aviation crisis escalated significantly on Saturday when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) served a show-cause notice to IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers, seeking a detailed explanation for the airline’s persistent and widespread delays, cancellations, and systemic operational breakdowns.
The regulator has granted the CEO a strict deadline of 24 hours to submit his response, explicitly warning that any failure to reply within the stipulated time will lead to punitive action against him and the airline.
In its strongly worded notice, the DGCA stated that the ongoing disruption, which has resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations every day, has caused “severe inconvenience, hardship and distress” to thousands of passengers across the country.
The regulator identified the “primary cause” of the large-scale breakdown as IndiGo’s failure to make essential arrangements required for the smooth implementation of the approved Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) scheme.
It further observed that the magnitude of the operational collapse clearly indicated “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management” on the part of the airline’s leadership and operational teams.
The notice also highlighted that IndiGo repeatedly failed to provide passengers with the mandatory information, facilities, and assistance required under regulations in cases of flight cancellations, prolonged delays, and denied boarding.
Holding the CEO personally accountable, the DGCA stated that Pieter Elbers “failed in his duty” to ensure reliable and disruption-free operations and to guarantee that passengers receive the facilities and compensation they are legally entitled to during such events.
This stern action represents the strongest regulatory intervention to date, as IndiGo’s disruptions entered their fifth consecutive day, with passenger frustration reaching critical levels at major airports nationwide.
The immediate trigger for the show-cause notice was the staggering number of cancellations reported on Saturday alone, with more than 850 IndiGo flights scrapped, severely crippling the airline’s domestic and international network.
Travellers in cities across India continued to face chaotic scenes, including interminably long queues at check-in counters and customer-service desks, missed connecting flights, and widespread baggage mishandling and delays amid the airline’s severe operational instability.
In a parallel development, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued firm directives to IndiGo, ordering the carrier to process and clear all pending passenger refunds by Sunday evening and to ensure that all separated baggage is reunited with its owners within the next two days. The ministry has also instructed IndiGo to immediately establish dedicated passenger-support desks and refund-facilitation cells at airports, staffed adequately to address grievances and provide real-time flight updates.
Earlier today, senior IndiGo officials held urgent meetings with Ministry of Civil Aviation authorities to outline the corrective measures being implemented to stabilise operations and prevent further large-scale cancellations.
Also Read: Govt introduces airfare caps amid IndiGo flight disruptions
Meanwhile, as the crisis persisted, the Air India Group—comprising Air India and Air India Express—stepped in with a series of passenger-relief measures. The group has imposed caps on economy-class fares for domestic non-stop sectors, introduced a one-time waiver of change and cancellation fees for eligible bookings, deployed additional personnel at contact centres, and significantly increased seat capacity across multiple routes.
Where operationally feasible, eligible economy-class passengers are being upgraded to higher cabins (premium economy or business class) at no additional cost to maximise the utilisation of available seats. The group is also operating additional flights on affected routes to expedite the movement of stranded travellers and their baggage to their final destinations.
Also Read: No end to Indigo chaos, over 800 flights cancelled
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