India's largest low-cost carrier, IndiGo, is having a meltdown.
India's federal government this week mandated IndiGo cut 10 percent of its winter schedule, BBC reported, after an operational breakdown that included more than 3,000 cancellations last week.
IndiGo operates more than 2,200 flights daily and controls more than 60 percent of India's domestic market, BBC noted.
In addition, India's directorate general of civil aviation on Wednesday said it would deploy nine senior officials to the airline's headquarters in Gurugram, Haryana, to monitor its fleet, pilot roster, network planning and crew utilization, The Hindu reported.
The airline had blamed weather and technical glitches for the rash of cancellations, according to the New York Times, but it also cited a new rule that requires increased rest time for pilots and flight crew, leading to staffing shortages.
Those new rules include weekly rest for pilots, increasing to 48 hours from 36, and tighter limits on permissible pilot night landings, reducing to two from six, according to the BBC. The new rules were introduced two years ago and were to be adopted in two phases, in June and November of 2025. Other carriers were able to comply, but IndiGo said it "has not been in a position to fully do so in time," according to the report.
On Dec. 5, India's aviation regulator granted IndiGo a one-time exemption until Feb. 10 from new pilot night-duty rules, but did not exempt the carrier from the stricter mandatory rest per week rule, according to CNBC.
On Dec. 6, the Indian government imposed a nationwide cap on airfares until the situation stabilizes to control a surge in ticket prices caused by the IndiGo cancellations, according to the Times of India.
IndiGo posted on X on Dec. 9 a video of CEO Pieter Elbers stating that operations as of that date were "fully stabilized" and that the company is "profusely apologetic" for the disruptions. Elbers noted that on Dec. 5, the carrier could operate only 700 flights, improving to 1,500 on Dec. 6, leading to more than 1,800 operated on Dec. 9.
The carrier has posted a notice that briefly appears when visiting its website:
"The CEO and his team have been leading from the front, working through day and night to normalize flight operations and secure network stability. The IndiGo board has been closely monitoring the situation while the crisis management group of the board has been meeting every day, and actively working with the CEO, the senior management and various teams deployed on the ground to restore normalcy in operations. Please have faith in us. We are getting there."
The airline also posted on X on Thursday a notice regarding refund initiations and a travel voucher valued at 10,000 rupees to "severely impacted customers" traveling on Dec. 3-5. The vouchers can be used for future IndiGo flights and are valid for 12 months. The vouchers are in addition to the government-required compensation of 5,000 rupees or 10,000 rupees for flights canceled within 24 hours of departure time.
IndiGo has been growing quickly, and in June 2023, placed a record order for 500 Airbus A320 aircraft, then subsequently ordered 30 Airbus A350 widebody aircraft.
The carrier in June signed a memorandum of understanding with joint-venture partners Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic to develop an "industry-leading partnership." The carrier also has a codeshare partnership with American Airlines.
In August 2024, IndiGo announced a loyalty program and plans to add business class on certain domestic routes. The India-based carrier also began its first flights to Europe this past summer.