India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has dismissed four flight inspectors responsible for overseeing safety and operational compliance at IndiGo, following widespread flight disruptions earlier this month. The action was taken after the regulator found lapses in inspection and monitoring, officials said.
The move comes after IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights after failing to adequately prepare for tighter safety norms, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded across the country. Disruptions peaked on December 5 before gradually easing. The airline has since claimed that operations have stabilised and returned to normal levels.
To ensure closer supervision, the DGCA has deployed two oversight teams at IndiGo’s corporate office in Gurugram. These teams have been tasked with monitoring day-to-day operations and passenger-related issues, and will submit daily status reports to the regulator by 6 pm.
One team is examining the airline’s operational capacity, including fleet strength, availability of pilots, crew utilisation hours, personnel under training, standby arrangements, unplanned leaves and split duties. It is also reviewing the number of flights operated daily, sectors affected due to crew shortages, average stage length per flight, and network planning to assess whether operations are being run within safe limits.
The second team is focusing on passenger impact arising from the disruption. This includes tracking refunds processed directly by the airline as well as through travel portals and agents, compensation payable under Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), on-time performance, recovery of lost baggage, and the status of cancelled flights.
As part of corrective measures, IndiGo has been directed to scale back its operations by 10 per cent. With the airline operating roughly 2,200 flights a day, the reduction translates into the cancellation of over 200 daily flights.
Announcing the decision earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said passengers had faced “severe inconvenience” due to internal shortcomings at IndiGo, including poor crew roster management, scheduling failures and inadequate communication.
The minister said the temporary curtailment of flights was intended to help stabilise operations and reduce last-minute cancellations, while allowing the airline to continue serving all destinations. He also directed IndiGo to strictly follow all government instructions, including fare caps and passenger-welfare measures, without exceptions.
Separately, IndiGo announced compensation of ₹10,000 in travel vouchers for customers it described as “severely impacted” during the disruption between December 3 and 5. The airline did not clarify the criteria it would use to identify eligible passengers.
In a statement, IndiGo said some customers had been stranded for several hours at congested airports during the period and would be offered vouchers valid for future travel over the next 12 months. The airline added that this payout would be over and above compensation of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 already committed under government guidelines for flights cancelled within 24 hours of departure.
IndiGo said it remains focused on restoring reliable operations and rebuilding passenger confidence following the crisis.