IndiGo, India's largest airline, is grappling with a severe operational crisis that has led to massive flight disruptions across its network, prompting a public apology from its top executive. Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers has written to the airline's employees, acknowledging the carrier's failure to provide a satisfactory travel experience to its passengers in recent days.
Scale of the Disruption
The scale of the problem became starkly evident on Thursday alone, when the airline cancelled more than 300 flights. Scores of other services faced significant delays, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. The airline's on-time performance (OTP), a critical measure of operational efficiency, plummeted to an alarming 19.7 per cent on December 3, highlighting the depth of the crisis.
In an internal message, Elbers conceded that IndiGo "could not live up to the promise" of offering a good journey to its customers. He noted that the airline serves close to 3.8 lakh (380,000) customers daily, but the recent events fell short of expectations. "The past few days have been difficult for many of our IndiGo customers and colleagues," Elbers stated, adding that the company has publicly apologised for the lapses.
Causes Behind the Operational Meltdown
Elbers outlined a confluence of factors that triggered the cascading failures. According to his communication, the crisis stemmed from a mix of:
- Minor technology glitches.
- Recent schedule changes.
- Adverse weather conditions in parts of the country.
- Heightened congestion across the Indian aviation ecosystem.
- The implementation of newly released Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms for crew.
These elements, he explained, "compounded negatively to create a cascading impact on our operations." Elbers emphasised that given the sheer size and complexity of IndiGo's network, any disruption tends to "grow large immediately" and requires interventions at multiple levels to contain.
Regulatory Scrutiny and the Path to Recovery
The situation has attracted the attention of the aviation regulator. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has summoned IndiGo's senior management to explain the unprecedented nationwide disruptions and to present a concrete corrective action plan.
In response, the airline has initiated what it calls "calibrated adjustments" to its flight schedules for the next 48 hours to stabilise operations. Elbers set a clear immediate goal for the team: "Our immediate goal is to normalise our operations and bring punctuality back on track in the coming days, which is not an easy target."
The CEO expressed gratitude to the frontline and support staff, including pilots, cabin crew, engineers, operations control centre (OCC) teams, customer support, digital teams, and airport personnel, who have been working tirelessly to manage the situation. Rallying his employees, Elbers recalled the airline's recent achievement of upgrading 200 A320 aircraft within 24 hours as proof of their collective capability. "I am confident we all can deal with this challenge too... Together, as one team, we will overcome this challenge and emerge even stronger," he wrote, urging a unified effort to restore normalcy.
