DGCA Fires 4 IndiGo Safety Inspectors Following Massive Flight Cancellations and Operational Crisis

India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has dismissed four flight inspectors responsible for overseeing safety and operational compliance at IndiGo airlines.

The dismissal came as a result of negligence in inspection and monitoring of the airline's operations.

IndiGo faced a major crisis this month after failing to adapt to stricter safety regulations, resulting in thousands of flight cancellations that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded across India. The airline reported on Tuesday that its operations have now stabilized and returned to normal levels after cancellations peaked on December 5.

According to sources, the DGCA has deployed two oversight teams at IndiGo's Gurugram headquarters to monitor various aspects of operations. These teams are required to submit daily reports to the regulator by 6 pm.

The first team is tasked with examining the airline's total fleet, pilot strength, crew utilization hours, training status, split duties, unplanned leaves, standby crew availability, daily flights, and sectors affected by crew shortages. They are also monitoring the average stage length and network structure to assess overall operational efficiency.

The second team focuses on crisis management issues including refund processing (both from the airline and booking platforms), passenger compensation compliance with Civil Aviation Requirements, on-time performance metrics, baggage handling, and flight cancellation status.

IndiGo, India's largest airline, has been instructed to reduce its operations by 10 percent. With approximately 2,200 daily flights, this reduction means cancellation of over 200 flights.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced this decision on Tuesday, stating that many passengers experienced "severe inconvenience due to IndiGo's internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication."

"The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall IndiGo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline's operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding by it, IndiGo will continue to cover all its destinations as before," he posted on X after meeting with IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers.

The Minister emphasized that IndiGo must comply with all Ministry directives, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures, "without any exception."

In response to the crisis, IndiGo announced on Thursday that passengers "severely impacted" during the airport chaos from December 3 to 5 will receive Rs 10,000 in compensation in the form of travel vouchers.

The airline did not specify the criteria for determining "severely impacted" customers or how they would be identified for compensation.

"IndiGo regrettably acknowledges that part of our customers travelling on 3/4/5 December 2025 were stranded for many hours at certain airports and number of them were severely impacted due to congestion. We will offer travel vouchers worth INR 10,000 to such severely impacted customers," the airline stated on X.

The airline added that these travel vouchers would be valid for any IndiGo journey within the next 12 months.

IndiGo clarified that this compensation is in addition to the Rs 5,000-10,000 compensation already promised under government guidelines for customers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of scheduled departure.

The airline concluded its statement with: "At IndiGo, we are committed to restoring the experience you expect from us-safe, smooth, and reliable. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you again."