The government has stated that IndiGo did not raise any concerns during a meeting on December 1—just a day before the airline began large-scale flight cancellations that went on to disrupt travel nationwide. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu informed Parliament that the issue stemmed from the airline’s internal crew-rostering system, not from the newly implemented Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.
Naidu clarified that while more than 4,500 flights were cancelled over a week, the root cause was a failure in IndiGo’s planning and scheduling software. Given that IndiGo controls nearly 60% of India’s domestic aviation market, the disruption created major challenges for passengers across airports. The minister emphasized that the government is actively encouraging more airlines to strengthen competition and reduce over-dependence on any single operator.
Addressing concerns about refunds and passenger inconvenience, Naidu stated that over 5.86 lakh cancellations resulted in refunds worth ₹569 crore. He added that strict Civil Aviation Requirements are already in place to protect travellers and that an official inquiry has been launched into IndiGo’s software breakdown. Although the airline claims gradual recovery, hundreds of additional cancellations continued even on Monday.
Naidu reiterated that while other carriers adapted smoothly to the updated roster rules, IndiGo failed to manage the transition effectively. Temporary relaxations in specific FDTL norms were granted to help restore normal operations, but the minister maintained that the disruption was largely due to internal mismanagement.