India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has announced that it will pay compensation exceeding ₹500 crore to passengers who were “severely stranded” after large-scale flight cancellations earlier this month. The airline said the payouts will cover customers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure and those left stuck at airports during the disruption between December 3 and December 5.
In a statement shared on X on Friday, IndiGo said it is working to make the refund and compensation process “transparent, easy and hassle-free.” The airline added that, based on current estimates, the total compensation amount would cross ₹500 crore.
“Our goal is to ensure that affected customers receive compensation smoothly. We are identifying flights where passengers were severely impacted and stranded at airports on December 3, 4 and 5,” IndiGo said. The airline noted that it will reach out directly to eligible customers in January to extend compensation.
IndiGo also reiterated its commitment to issuing refunds promptly. “Through December 2025, our primary focus is to ensure all refunds for affected customers are processed efficiently and with the utmost urgency. Most refunds have already been completed, and the remaining ones will be reflected shortly,” the airline said.
Operational recovery underway
The airline said its operations have been steadily stabilising over the past few days. On Friday, IndiGo announced it would operate more than 2,000 flights across its network under a revised, scaled-down schedule. All 138 operational destinations are currently connected, and on-time performance has returned to what the airline described as normal levels.
On Thursday, IndiGo operated over 1,950 flights, with only four same-day cancellations, which it attributed to unfavourable weather conditions. The airline said all affected customers were informed in advance to minimise inconvenience.
Probe and regulatory scrutiny
As part of efforts to prevent a repeat of the disruption, IndiGo has appointed Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by veteran aviation expert Captain John Illson, to conduct a root-cause analysis of the operational failures that affected thousands of passengers, particularly in major urban hubs.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also stepped up scrutiny of the airline. Earlier on Friday, the aviation regulator summoned IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers to seek an explanation for last week’s widespread cancellations and delays. The DGCA has since introduced additional oversight measures aimed at ensuring smoother airline operations going forward.
