Centre summons airlines after IndiGo meltdown; Nearly 500 flights cancelled nationwide

The nationwide IndiGo-caused flight chaos over the past week is set to be on the agenda at a high-level meeting the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has called with all major airline operators on Friday – as the government seeks to avert such a meltdown in the future. This as hundreds of flights have continued to be cancelled even today, with disruptions reported at multiple major airports.

In what happened: Cancellations Continue, Government Action Accelerates

The MoCA on Friday announced the meeting for the full review will be held on Saturday, December 9, at Rajiv Bhawan. The aim of the meeting: Formulate a plan that avoids a repeat of the “operational meltdown” caused by IndiGo.

The ministry’s latest update said that nearly 500 flights were cancelled today – with 152 flights cancelled at Delhi and 121 at Bengaluru. Other airports such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow and Ahmedabad also saw significant cancellations or diversions, it added.

“Of the 9,000 passenger bags that were unaccounted for immediately after the situation stabilised, 6,000 bags have already been delivered and the balance are expected to be delivered to the respective passengers by Tuesday morning,” the ministry added in a statement. Separately, the MoCA has also sent a team of ten senior officials to airports across the country for the next two to three days to oversee airline operations and passenger services and fix ground-level gaps if flagged by passengers or airport staff immediately.

In what’s on the agenda: A Wider Review of Airlines

The sources said that the meeting on Saturday would focus on key areas.

Reviewing scheduling and rostering practices of all major airlines, their capacity planning and readiness to absorb demand under new safety and rest regulations.

Review the systems in place for passenger care, baggage handling, and communication in case of a disruption, and the airlines’ contractual arrangements for ensuring the same.

Scrutinise the refund process so far: Cancellations between November 21 and December 7 led to nearly ₹827 crore worth of refunded PNRs.

Discussion about if IndiGo’s winter flight slots could be reallocated to other carriers if further schedule cuts are needed.

Sources said officials have also asked all airline operators to submit detailed contingency plans, current-staffing assessments, and capabilities in place to handle spike in loads (peak and winters, especially during holidays).

In the background: Why the Chaos Occurred

Civil aviation industry disruption, many industry experts believe, has stemmed in large part from the new crew work-time and rest regulations that took effect across civil aviation in 2025. The changes in Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules require pilots to rest for a longer period between flights, and place stricter caps on the number of night landings a pilot can perform in a given period.

While several airlines have reportedly made necessary adjustments without major problems, India(BHARAT)’s largest domestic carrier IndiGo appears to have suffered due to “years of lean manpower planning on the part of the airline” and the workforce pressure from flying at about 60–65% share of the country’s domestic market, several senior aviation ministry officials told THE WEEK.

Between December 1 and 7, thousands of flights were cancelled at airports across the country, making this the largest ever disruption in IndiGo’s history.

As to why the government is getting involved: Fear of Systemic Risk to Domestic Air Travel

The scale of the disruption, and impact on hundreds of thousands of passengers and a majority of domestic routes, has raised fears of over-dependence on one major carrier. Senior officials said the incident laid bare structural weaknesses in India(BHARAT)’s aviation ecosystem that the government was not aware of till last week: One company’s failure coming very close to paralysing the entire network.

In response, the Centre has indicated it may not mind seeing more airlines come in and improving the overall resilience of the system, rather than one airline having a near-monopoly on so many routes.

What to watch next: Implementation of corrective measures and Accountability

The all-airline operators’ meeting is expected to give short-term corrective steps – including slot reallocation, stricter oversight, revised passenger-service protocols and improved passenger grievance redress – as well as a road map for longer-term structural changes to current norms on airline licensing, competition and minimum-staffing levels.

Separately, a regulatory committee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has called top executives of IndiGo – including CEO – to explain the crisis and the airline’s non-compliance with the new crew-rest time regulations.

Passengers across India(BHARAT) are watching developments closely and are now questioning the safety of air travel especially during peak seasons such as winter and holidays. The coming days and months may decide if this meltdown becomes a turning point in how airlines operate in the country.