Key Points:
The DGCA imposed a cumulative penalty of ₹22.20 crores on IndiGo Airlines for failing to adapt revised aviation measures. This failure resulted in more than 2,500 flight cancellations and around 1,850 delays between December 3 and December 5, 2025.
A four-member inquiry committee found over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness, software deficiencies, and management shortcomings at IndiGo. Following the findings, the DGCA issued cautions to the CEO and COO and ordered the airline to relieve a senior operations executive of responsibilities.
The penalty was criticised as IndiGo’s daily profit of ₹19.88 crores in FY 2024–2025 was nearly equal to the fine imposed by the DGCA. Officials said the amount was meagre compared to the heavy financial, emotional, and physical cost borne by passengers.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has imposed financial penalties on InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo) Airlines totalling ₹22.20 crores. The decision comes after IndiGo failed to adapt the new airline measures implemented by the DGCA, leading to a cancellation of more than 2,500 flights and about 1850 flight delays, during the period December 3, 2025 to December 5, 2025. IndiGo Airlines faced severe cancellation and delays of flights since the beginning of December 2025, sparking outrage from passengers who were left stranded in airports. A total of 1,232 flights were cancelled in November 2025 alone.
Additionally, DGCA also directed IndiGo airlines to assure a bank guarantee of ₹50 crores. The aforementioned amount will be released to the airlines following IndiGo’s compliance with the revised civil aviation rules, and committing a long term systemic correction.
The decision comes after the findings of an Inquiry Committee formed by the DGCA. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had instructed the DGCA to probe into the IndiGo aviation crisis, following which a four member committee was formed on December 5, 2025. Subsequently, after investigating the incident, the committee submitted its report to the DGCA on December 26, 2026. The findings and recommendations of the report were forwarded to the MoCA.
The official press note by the DGCA on January 17, 2026, states that: “The key findings of the Inquiry Committee were that the primary causes for the disruption were over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness along with deficiencies in system software support and shortcomings in management structure and operational control on the part of M/s IndiGo.” The committee also reported that IndiGo airlines management had failed to adequately identify planning deficiencies, maintain sufficient operational buffer, and effectively implement the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) provisions.
Furthermore, the committee found out that IndiGo wrongly maximised over-utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, as against the revised regulations. The press note further states: “Crew rosters were designed to maximise duty periods, with increased reliance on dead-heading, tail swaps, extended duty patterns, and minimal recovery margins. This approach compromised roster integrity and adversely impacted operational resilience. The inquiry also included within its purview long term reform measures addressing systemic issues so that such incidents do not occur in the future and passengers are not put to any inconvenience.”
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The DGCA has issued warnings to CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras. It has also ordered the airlines to relieve Jason Herter, senior vice president of IndiGo’s operations control centre (OCC), in-charge of current operational responsibilities.
The DGCA has also granted relief to the customers’ whose flights got disrupted due to operational failures from December 3, 2025 to December 5, 2025. An official press release by the DGCA on January 16, 2026, stated that the affected passengers would be entitled to compensation as per Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV titled: “Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights.”
IndiGo Airlines informed DGCA that the refunds for the aforementioned customers were processed, and additionally a Gesture of Care (GoC) was also extended. According to the GoC, affected passengers would be entitled to two travel vouchers of ₹5000 each, for a period of 12 months. It also said that it would take full cognizance of the matter, and take appropriate steps in a thoughtful and timely manner.
The cumulative penalty of ₹22.20 crores was imposed under Rule 133A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. It is the highest-ever regulatory penalty imposed by the DGCA on an airline. The continued non-compliance penalty (₹20.40 crores) consisted of 6 non-compliance measures according to CAR, such as improper delegation and exercise of operational control responsibilities contrary to approved methods, and failure of accountable management, among others. The aforementioned penalties were valued at ₹30 lakhs each, for a period of 68 days (December 5, 2025 to February 10, 2026). A one-time systemic penalty was also added that amounted to ₹1.80 crores.
While the penalty imposed by DGCA is the highest on any airline, IndiGo’s daily profits alone were reported to be around the same amount in the financial year 2024-2025. According to official financial results released by IndiGo for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, the company recorded a net profit of around ₹7,258 crores, amounting to a daily average profit of about ₹19.88 crores. This has led many officials to condemn the penalty imposed, saying that there should be serious penalties slapped on the airlines.
Captain CS Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) said that the DGCA failed to address the individual accountability of the passengers, despite a clear violation of aviation measures. He added that the fine was a meagre amount, compared to the heavy prices passengers had to pay. He also said that the top officials and several management personnels were let go too easily, stating that strict actions should have been taken against them.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the fine imposed on IndiGo was far too small given the scale of the disruption caused by the airline. She said IndiGo’s actions led to widespread chaos, violated aviation rules, embarrassed the country internationally, forced passengers to pay high fares, and left thousands stranded at airports, causing serious emotional, mental, and health stress. According to her, all of this was brushed aside by the DGCA with what she described as a negligible fine of ₹22 crore.
Priyanka Chaturvedi also said that the airline’s management would be relieved by the decision, while ordinary Indians would be left to cope with the trauma, once again feeling that the system does not stand up for them.
For ordinary Indian passengers, the crisis came at a heavy personal cost - missed journeys, financial losses, surge fares, days spent stranded at airports, and lasting emotional and physical stress. While passengers bore the consequences in full, senior IndiGo officials faced only cautions and warnings, and the airline was fined an amount comparable to just a day’s profit.
This contrast raises an uncomfortable question for the common citizen: when large corporations falter, is accountability truly proportional to the harm caused, or does the burden of failure continue to fall mainly on those with the least power to absorb it?
(GP)
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