IndiGo Announces Rs 500 Crore Compensation Plan for Stranded Passengers After Major Flight Disruptions

IndiGo announced on Friday that it estimates compensation payments will exceed Rs 500 crore for passengers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure and those who were severely stranded at airports across India.

The airline shared in a statement on X: "Our goal is to make this process (of refunds) as transparent, easy, and hassle-free as possible for you. We will be provided compensation which, in our current estimation, will be in excess of Rs 500 crores to customers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure time and/or to customers severely stranded at certain airports."

IndiGo stated they are currently "identifying flights where customers were severely impacted and stranded at airports on 3, 4, and 5 December" and will "reach out to all such customers in January so that compensation can be extended smoothly." The company emphasized its commitment to processing refunds promptly.

The airline noted, "At this stage, our primary focus through December 2025 is ensuring that all refunds for affected customers are processed efficiently, expeditiously, and with the utmost urgency. Most of them have already been completed, and the remaining ones will reflect shortly."

On Thursday, IndiGo operated over 1,950 flights with only four same-day cancellations, which were attributed to "unfavourable weather, with all affected customers promptly informed to avoid inconvenience."

IndiGo also announced it would operate more than 2,000 flights nationwide today, with service performance improving steadily since last week. "Demonstrating continuous operational normalisation and stability since the last four days, IndiGo is set to operate over 2,000 flights today, as per its revised scaled-down schedule. All our 138 operational destinations are connected, and our on-time performance has been consistently normal as per IndiGo standards," the airline reported.

Additionally, IndiGo has appointed Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, a veteran aviation expert, to conduct a "root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption" that affected thousands of passengers across India, particularly in major urban air travel hubs.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) summoned IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to question him regarding the widespread flight cancellations last week. The aviation regulator has intensified scrutiny of the airline and implemented several measures to ensure smooth operations following the disruptions.

In a notable related incident, a man from Haryana drove 800 km to get his son to school for an exam during the IndiGo service disruption.