IndiGo’s flight crisis worsens with thousands stranded as SC orders urgent intervention

India’s largest airline continued to grapple with a cascading flight crisis for the fifth straight day on December 6, even as Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport issued a public advisory stating that operations were “steadily” returning to normal.

The meltdown—among the worst in recent civil aviation history—forced the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights on December 5 and over 550 on December 4, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across airports.

The turbulence has now reached the Supreme Court, where a plea has sought the Chief Justice of India’s intervention, alleging widespread financial and personal hardship due to the sudden suspensions.

Operations slowly stabilizing, airport says

Delhi Airport stated that IndiGo’s schedule was gradually stabilising but urged travellers to verify their flight status before leaving for terminals already stretched by crowds and uncertainty.

“We are glad to update that IndiGo flight operations are now steadily resuming and getting back to normalcy following the brief disruption,” the airport said in a message posted on X. The advisory followed the airline’s unprecedented move to halt all domestic departures from Delhi until midnight on December 5.

Plea in Supreme Court seeks intervention

A petition filed in the Supreme Court has asked the Chief Justice to take suo motu cognisance of the chaos. The plea seeks directions to the Civil Aviation Ministry and aviation regulator DGCA to file an urgent status report and requests the constitution of a special bench to hear the matter immediately.

The DGCA has blamed the airline’s planning failures—particularly around the rollout of the new pilot fatigue and duty-hour rules—for triggering the operational collapse.

IndiGo CEO apologises, promises stability by mid-month

IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers issued a public apology, acknowledging that December 5 marked the worst day of disruption, with cancellations “well over 1,000.”

“It will take some time to return to a full normal situation, which we anticipate between 10 to 15 December,” Elbers said in a video message.

Govt steps in, probe committee formed

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the chaos stemmed from IndiGo’s “mismanagement” of crew scheduling under updated Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules and confirmed that regulatory relaxations had been granted temporarily to restore public mobility.

“We have formed a committee which will inquire into where things went wrong and who was responsible. Strict action will be taken, and accountability will be fixed,” Naidu told ANI.

Disruptions persist nationwide

Despite signs of stabilisation in the capital, flight disruptions continued across major hubs.

By December 6 morning:

• Delhi reported 86 cancellations
• Mumbai saw 109 grounded
• Bengaluru recorded more than 120 cancellations
• Hyderabad reported 69
• Pune saw 42 flights affected

Smaller airports also reported disruptions: Thiruvananthapuram cancelled six services, Ahmedabad grounded 19 flights between midnight and 6 am, and Chennai reported 29 cancellations by 9 am.

With holiday travel underway and airport terminals swelling with affected passengers, the crisis has ignited calls for regulatory reviews, compensation mechanisms, and accountability—turning IndiGo’s operational stumble into a national aviation flashpoint.