IndiGo on Saturday said it would take “appropriate action” after the aviation regulator DGCA imposed a Rs 22.20 crore penalty on the airline over massive flight disruptions in December and warned its top leadership, including CEO Pieter Elbers.
In a statement, IndiGo said it had received the DGCA orders related to the operational breakdown that led to large-scale cancellations and delays in early December 2025.
The airline said its board and management would take full cognisance of the regulator’s directions and implement measures in a “thoughtful and timely manner”.
The airline also added that an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of its internal processes has been underway since the disruption, to emerge stronger after what it described as an otherwise “pristine record of 19-plus years of operations”.
IndiGo said it remained committed to serving India’s aviation needs and supporting the country’s goal of becoming a global aviation hub by 2030.
IndiGo's response came shortly after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation came down heavily on the airline, calling the December chaos a result of inadequate regulatory preparedness and shortcomings in management structure.
Besides the monetary penalty, the watchdog has directed IndiGo to furnish a Rs 50 crore bank guarantee to ensure compliance with its directives and long-term systemic correction.
In early December, IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across the country after it failed to adequately prepare for the implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation norms for pilots.
The airline was later given relaxation until February 10 to comply with the new rules.
In an uncommon move, the DGCA imposed penalties for non-compliance over a 68-day period, from December 5, 2025 to February 10, 2026, translating to a fine of Rs 30 lakh per day.
The total financial penalty on the airline stands at Rs 20.40 crore on multiple counts, taking the overall punitive amount to Rs 22.20 crore.
The regulator cited failures including the absence of an effective compliance scheme for flight time and rest limits, inadequate buffer margins in crew rostering, improper delegation of operational control, and lapses by accountable management in ensuring operations met DGCA standards. IndiGo’s Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras is the airline’s accountable manager.
As part of corrective measures, IndiGo has been asked to pledge a Rs 50 crore bank guarantee under the IndiGo Systemic Reform Assurance Scheme.
The phased release of the guarantee will be linked to DGCA-verified reforms across leadership and governance, manpower planning and fatigue management, digital systems and operational resilience, and sustained board-level oversight over a period of up to 15 months.
The DGCA said the release of funds would depend on independent verification at each stage.
According to the regulator, between December 3 and 5 alone, 2,507 flights were cancelled and 1,852 flights delayed, affecting more than three lakh passengers nationwide.
The action follows a detailed probe by a four-member DGCA committee, whose findings were also shared with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The regulator has also warned CEO Pieter Elbers for inadequate oversight of flight operations and crisis management, and issued warnings to several senior officials, including the COO and operational heads, for failures in planning, supervision and timely implementation of revised duty norms.
The penalties rank among the largest ever imposed by the DGCA for flight disruptions, underlining the regulator’s tougher stance on operational lapses by airlines.
