The crisis has been triggered by an acute crew shortage following the rollout of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). The new norms exposed what officials describe as serious rostering and planning lapses, causing IndiGo's network to unravel. As crew became unavailable under the updated rules, schedules slipped, delays snowballed and cancellations crossed into the hundreds.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has intervened, ordering IndiGo to clear all pending refunds, provide automatic full refunds for cancelled flights, and ensure accommodation and assistance for stranded passengers. Regulators have also launched a detailed inquiry into the airline's operational failures, even as authorities temporarily relaxed FDTL rules to stabilise capacity.

Analysts say IndiGo's market leadership remains intact but warn that prolonged disruption and heightened regulatory scrutiny could weigh on the stock in the near term.

In a public statement on 5 December 2025, IndiGo's CEO Pieter Elbers apologised for the chaos, confirming that 5 December was the airline's worst day yet with more than 1,000 cancellations, representing over half its daily schedule. He outlined a three step plan focused on clearer customer communication, ensuring stranded passengers fly out the same day and executing a reboot of crew and aircraft scheduling.

Elbers said the airline expects cancellations to decline from 6 December and projects a return to normal operations between 10 and 15 December. He acknowledged the strain on IndiGo's reputation and said teams across the company are working to restore customer confidence built over the last 19 years.

On Friday, 5 December 2025, shares of InterGlobe Aviation slipped 1.22% to end at Rs 5,371.30 after touching an intraday low of Rs 5,266.

InterGlobe Aviation is amongst the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the world. It had a fleet of 417 aircraft and provided scheduled services to 94 domestic and 41 international destinations as of 30th September 2025.

The company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 2,582.1 crore in Q2 FY26, compared with net loss of Rs 986.7 crore in Q2 FY25, including the impact of currency movement pertaining to dollar based future obligations. Revenue from operations increased 9.34% YoY to Rs 18,555.3 crore in Q2 Sept 2025, driven by strong operational execution and efficient capacity deployment.

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