IndiGo Crisis Deepens: Staff Open Letter Reveals Planning Failures Behind Massive Flight Cancellations

The IndiGo airport crisis has continued for four consecutive days, causing widespread disruption across India.

A viral "open letter" allegedly written by IndiGo staff—including pilots, cabin crew, and ground personnel—is circulating widely on social media platforms. The letter claims that the recent operational chaos was not merely a logistical breakdown but rather "a failure of planning and frontline protection." Over 500 flights have been cancelled, with distressing footage showing passengers stranded at various airports nationwide, struggling to access basic necessities like food and water.

The purported letter states that while frontline employees endured passenger anger and blame, the executives responsible for strategic decisions remained insulated from the consequences. Significantly, the letter suggests that the timing and scale of cancellations align with new regulatory deadlines affecting crew duty limitations, implying that the operational collapse may have been permitted to escalate as leverage in negotiations with regulators.

"We did not design rosters. We did not freeze hiring. We did not delay preparedness. Yet we carried the entire public cost," the letter asserts. The staff are demanding accountability, exoneration of frontline workers, transparency regarding regulatory negotiations, and guarantees against future similar crises.

A social media user who shared the letter indicated it was received as a forwarded WhatsApp message. NDTV cannot verify the letter's authenticity.

During the past four days, major aviation hubs including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad have experienced hundreds of cancellations. IndiGo, which typically operates approximately 2,300 daily flights, saw its on-time performance plummet to just 19.7 percent on December 3.

IndiGo's leadership has acknowledged the situation. CEO Pieter Elbers addressed employees directly, admitting that the airline failed to deliver its promised reliable service. He attributed the disruptions to multiple factors: newly implemented crew-rostering regulations under the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL), technical issues, airport congestion, and adverse weather conditions.

The FDTL regulations limit flight crew working hours to 8 hours daily, 35 hours weekly, 125 hours monthly, and 1,000 hours annually. These rules also mandate specific rest periods, requiring crew members to receive downtime equivalent to twice their flight duration, with a minimum 10-hour rest period within any 24-hour window. The DGCA implemented these regulations to ensure adequate rest for aviation personnel and prevent fatigue-related safety risks.