IndiGo's December meltdown: What went wrong?
In early December 2024, IndiGo—India's biggest airline—ran into major trouble after failing to fully implement new crew work-hour (FDTL) rules.
This led to a wave of flight cancelations, with around 800 flights dropped on December 6 and hundreds more each day after.
Thousands of travelers were left scrambling as delays piled up across the country.
How did IndiGo and the government react?
A day into the chaos, aviation authorities issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo's CEO, requiring an explanation for the disruptions and warning of possible action.
The airline promised full refunds for canceled flights between December 5-15, 2024 and said things would be back to normal by December 10, 2024.
To help fix things faster, they set up a crisis team focused on getting passengers compensated and flights running again.
Why does this matter?
The government had to step in as ticket prices on other airlines shot up—so they capped fares and launched probes into how recovery was going.
All this hit during peak wedding season, making travel plans a mess for many families.
Railways even ran special trains just to help out stranded flyers—a rare move showing how big the disruption really was.