IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers appeared before the DGCA panel probing the recent operational disruptions for the second consecutive day on Friday.

A day after announcing a compensation of Rs 10,000 in the form of travel vouchers to affected passengers, IndiGo on Friday estimated that the total outgo in this regard will exceed Rs 500 crore.

IndiGo's operations are now slowly stabilising. The company said it will operate over 2,000 flights on Friday according to its revised scaled-down schedule.

The DGCA high-level probe panel on Friday grilled Elbers and Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras for several hours.

Sources told PTI that Elbers and Porqueras appeared before the four-member panel separately. Elbers and Porqueras spent around seven and five hours, respectively, before the panel.

While IndiGo remains under intense regulatory scrutiny, including from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) examining possible violations of competition norms, the DGCA has sacked four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) for alleged lapses connected to the crisis.

"The four FOIs, under various categories, on a contract basis, are hereby relieved from the DGCA with immediate effect to join their respective parent organisation," the DGCA said in an order.

FOIs are senior officials within the regulator who monitor airline operations, inspect and audit airlines, certify personnel such as pilots and cabin crew, and oversee training, flight standards, and accident prevention measures.

The specific reasons for their removal could not be immediately ascertained.

The board of InterGlobe Aviation, parent of IndiGo, on Friday announced the appointment of an external aviation expert to carry out a root-cause analysis of recent flight disruptions.

Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, a veteran aviation expert, will conduct an independent expert review and assessment of the operational disruptions and the contributing factors, the airline said.

The InterGlobe Aviation board has set up a Crisis Management Group in response to the significant operational disruptions that began on 2 December.

In the wake of the disruptions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed the airline to cut its winter schedule flights by 10 per cent.

Earlier this week, IndiGo chairman Vikram Singh Mehta said the board had decided to involve external technical experts to work with management and help determine the root causes that led to the disruptions.

The airline, controlled by Rahul Bhatia, cancelled thousands of flights between 1-9 December due to lack of proper planning and crew shortages in implementing new regulations for pilots' duty periods and rest, effective 1 November.

In a late evening post on X, IndiGo said it will provide compensation estimated to exceed Rs 500 crore to customers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure or who were severely stranded at certain airports.

"We are currently in the process of identifying flights where customers were severely impacted and stranded at the airports (on 3/4/5 December 2025). We will be reaching out to all such customers in January so that compensation can be extended smoothly," the airline said.

The CCI is internally examining whether IndiGo violated competition norms. According to a senior official, various aspects such as the overall dominant position, dominance on particular routes, and possible abuse of dominance will be examined.

No formal complaint has been filed against the airline so far, and the examination is being carried out suo motu.