'IndiGo back on its feet': Airline CEO after nationwide disruptions
What's the story
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has claimed that the airline's operations are now "stable," despite nearly 500 flights being canceled on Tuesday due to an operational meltdown. In a video message, Elbers once again apologized to passengers affected by the disruption and assured them that teams were working hard to restore normalcy. "IndiGo is back on its feet and our operations are stable. We have let you down when a major operational disruption happened and we're sorry for that," he said.
Restoration plan
IndiGo's operational recovery efforts
Elbers said that the airline's operations have been fully stabilized from Tuesday, ahead of the previously estimated period between December 10 and 15. He added, "The restoration...flights is being done on a war footing." "On December 5, we could fly only 700 flights, and thereafter, gradually improving to 1,500 on December 6, 1,650 on December 7, 1,800 yesterday and more than 1,800 today. As of yesterday, we are back to flying to all...138 destinations on our network," he said.
Twitter Post
Watch the video here
IndiGo Operations Normalised | A Message From Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo pic.twitter.com/VVB2yTsIBy
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) December 9, 2025
Customer focus
IndiGo's commitment to customer service and refunds
Elbers emphasized that their main priority was to get all stranded or delayed customers safely to their destinations or back home. He also assured that full refunds for canceled flights were being processed on a daily basis. "Most of the bags stuck at airports have been delivered to your homes, and our teams are working very hard on delivering the remaining ones very soon," he added.
Government collaboration
IndiGo's cooperation with government and internal review
Elbers said IndiGo was working closely with the government to restore normalcy in its operations. He added, "Now, the immediate crisis has been dealt with, we have started to focus internally on what has led to this, lessons to be learnt and how to emerge stronger." This statement comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered IndiGo to reduce its flights by 5%. The airline currently operates 2,200 flights daily, which means 115 flights will be reduced daily.
Regulatory response
Aviation Minister's stance on IndiGo operations
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that revised pilot and crew rostering rules are non-negotiable and strict action will be taken against IndiGo. He stressed that no airline, no matter how big, will be allowed to cause such hardships to passengers. "No airline, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures, non-compliance or non-adherence to statutory provisions," he said.