IndiGo chairman Vikram Singh Mehta issued a video statement on Wednesday, addressing the acute operational crisis which confronted the carrier, vigorously denying several “incorrect” allegations, including some that claimed the airline had deliberately engineered the crisis or tried to influence government regulations.
This announcement comes after a week of mass flight cancellations—thousands since last Tuesday—because IndiGo has failed to satisfactorily implement revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, aimed at averting the effects of pilot fatigue. In response, the Centre has ordered IndiGo to reduce its operations by 10% in total, and the CEO, Pieter Elbers, has been called for an update by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Allegations Are “Incorrect,” Chairman Says
Mehta said some of the criticism of the crisis was “fair,” especially how the airline failed to meet customer expectations. However, he singled out and dismissed three of the major accusations flying around during the mayhem:
“Engineered the Crisis“: Mehta rejected the claim of the mass cancellations being an “IndiGo-engineered crisis.”
“Influencing Government Rules“: He denied charges that the airline “tried to influence government rules,” saying, “IndiGo followed the pilot fatigue rules as they became applicable. We operated under new rules throughout, both in July and in November.”
“Compromising Safety“: The Chairman also denied that the airline had compromised safety protocols.
“Board Not Involved“: Mehta was responding to claims of negligence by the management that “the board has been closely involved with this matter for many, many months.”
Message from Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director of IndiGo pic.twitter.com/sySacxlFq0
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) December 10, 2025
Operational Failures Blamed On Combination Of Events
Mehta attributed the severe disruptions not to any “deliberate action,” but rather to a complex mix of issues: “internal and unanticipated external events.”
This combination included minor technical glitches, scheduled changes related to the start of the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system, and implementation of operations under the newly updated crew rostering rules.
Operations “Back To Normal” Sooner Than Expected
The Chairman said operations were back to normal “sooner than anticipated” because the Board, after an emergency meeting, set up a crisis management group in the wake of the first day of disruptions.
Corrective Action: Mehta said, “Refunds worth many hundreds of crores have been made,” and hotel/travel-related assistance has also been provided.
External Review: The Board has decided to engage the services of independent technical experts who will team with the management. This will be able to find the definite root cause of the situation and “ensure corrective action so that this level of disruption never occurs again.”
The crisis saw nearly 220 flights being cancelled on Wednesday alone, with major hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru reporting the highest numbers.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
