IndiGo's December (year not specified in the source) meltdown: Over 10,000 flights canceled, ₹22.2cr fine
December (year not specified in the source) was rough for IndiGo—India's biggest airline had to cancel over 2,100 flights across major airports, leaving many passengers stranded during the peak wedding season.
The disruption was attributed to multiple factors, including new DGCA rules that limited night landings, staffing and rostering shortfalls, software and system deficiencies, schedule realignment, airport congestion and adverse weather.
In early December alone, hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, and on-time performance dropped sharply.
Why does this matter?
The chaos led to a hefty ₹22.2 crore fine from aviation regulators and warnings to IndiGo's top bosses. The airline also had to cough up a ₹50 crore bank guarantee.
All this hit IndiGo's bottom line hard—its profits fell by 78% in Q3 (year not specified in the source) as it struggled with new labor codes and extra costs from the disruptions.
If you fly often or just love travel drama (minus the drama), this is one story that shows how quickly things can unravel behind the scenes.