Rama Krishna Sangem
Nation’s major air carrier IndiGo has assured passengers that the situation would be normalized by December 10, Wednesday. After six days of nationwide chaos, IndiGo on Sunday said it had restored most of its network, ramping up operations to more than 1,500 flights and reconnecting 135 of its 138 destinations.
The airline said Saturday’s steep reduction, when just over 700 flights operated, was part of a planned “reboot” to reset strained rosters and systems after days of severe disruption that left thousands of passengers stranded. IndiGo has now projected December 10 as the date by which it expects full stabilisation, even as special train services continue to run across several zones to accommodate travellers hit by the aviation meltdown.
The recovery push comes amid mounting political criticism and intensified regulatory scrutiny. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram called the crisis a “massive failure” of both IndiGo’s management and the Civil Aviation Ministry, welcoming the government’s move to impose temporary airfare caps and urging that they remain until the airline duopoly is broken.
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The airline said more than 95% of its network has been restored, with flights increasing from around 700 on Saturday to over 1,500 by Sunday evening. It apologised to customers and said the temporary scale-down was meant to “reboot” systems, rosters and schedules.
Amid the ongoing enquiry, IndiGo said it now expects to stabilise operations by December 10, advancing its earlier December 10–15 timeline, and signalling that full normalisation is still a few days away. The airline has been operating an emergency schedule and deploying additional resources as it attempts to restore confidence among passengers and regulators.
Refunds and baggage updates: The Civil Aviation Ministry said IndiGo has processed refunds totalling Rs 610 crore so far to passengers affected by flight cancellations and delays. As of Saturday, 3,000 pieces of baggage have been delivered to passengers across India. This IndiGo episode has come as a rude shock to Indian civil aviation sector which is hoping multiple fold jump in air travel and investments in the coming years.