IndiGo to compensate ‘severely impacted’ passengers after crisis

Dubai: A beleaguered IndiGo announced Thursday it will compensate passengers affected by a series of flight cancellations and delays earlier this month, offering vouchers worth up to ₹10,000 to those “severely impacted” by the travel disruption.

The airline confirmed that the vouchers can be used for any IndiGo journey over the next 12 months and are being issued in addition to government-mandated refunds and compensation guidelines.

Moreover, under the Indian government guidelines, IndiGo is also required to pay affected passengers between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 depending on the block time of their cancelled flights.

That means some travellers could receive double compensation — both the government payout and the airline’s ₹10,000 goodwill voucher.

“We will offer travel vouchers worth ₹10,000 to such severely impacted customers,” an IndiGo spokesperson said, adding that the airline remained “committed to restoring the experience passengers expect from us—safe, smooth and reliable.”

IndiGo stated that refunds for cancelled flights have already been initiated, with most passengers seeing amounts reflected in their accounts. Those who booked via travel portals have also had refund actions initiated, the airline said.

The disruption, which took place between December 3 and 5, 2025, saw large crowds of stranded travellers at multiple airports amid severe congestion.

Passengers took to social media to highlight hours-long waits and confusion at several terminals, prompting the airline to issue a public apology.

The carrier, which operates more than 2,000 daily flights, said it was stepping up efforts to ensure smoother operations and improved passenger communication in the coming days.

Pilot federations in India have said the airline’s current state is due to its unpreparedness for the government’s new rest regulations for pilots. IndiGo, however, has pinned the blame on a combination of internal and external factors, including technical glitches, scheduling shifts linked to winter operations, weather disruptions, aviation congestion, and the transition to updated crew rostering rules.

“This is not an excuse. It is the truth," the Chairman of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd — the parent company of IndiGo Airlines — Vikram Singh Mehta said in a rare video appearance. He vehemently denied accusations that the airline had “engineered the ongoing crisis” that crippled its operations for well over a week, causing millions in losses. Mehta rejected allegations that the airline had manipulated circumstances or compromised safety standards in the apology video.

“The claims that IndiGo engineered the crisis, tried to influence government rules, that we compromised safety, that the board was not involved, are incorrect,” he said in the video. He said IndiGo followed the Pilot Fatigue Rules as and when they came into effect.