IndiGo To Involve External Technical Experts, Chairman Denies 'Engineering' Aviation Crisis

IndiGo Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director Vikram Singh Mehta on Wednesday delivered his first official statement on the aviation crisis last week, where he apologised to the public and said

IndiGo will now involve external technical experts to ensure the incident does not occur again. However, he denied that the airline had “engineered” the unprecedented fiasco that left thousands of passengers stranded.

“On December 3, an unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations. This continued till December 4 and 5. Thousands of our passengers were left stranded. Many missed important family events, business commitments, medical appointments and international connections. Baggage was delayed or misdirected. I know how much distress this has caused. I want to say, very simply and very clearly. We are sorry,” he said.

Mehta said IndiGo’s flight operations have now stabilised with over 1,900 flights in 138 destinations. He acknowledged that the airline did not meet the public’s expectations and let people down, while assuring that the matter will be thoroughly investigated.

“The Board has decided that it will involve external technical experts to work with the management and help determine the root causes and ensure corrective action, so that this level of disruption does not arise again.”

IndiGo Denies ‘Engineering’ Crisis

However, the airline chairman said some of the allegations related to the unprecedented chaos of last week were untrue, such as that IndiGo “engineered” the crisis, tried to influence government rules and compromised safety.

“Indigo has followed the Pilot Fatigue Rules (FTDL) as they came into effect. We operated under the new rules throughout both in July and November. We did not attempt to bypass things, mor did we do anything that negatively impacted our unblemished track record of safety,” he said.

Mehta blamed the crisis not on any deliberate action, but on a combination of internal and unanticipated external events, including minor technical glitches, scheduled changes linked to the start of the winter, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system, and implementation of an operation under the updated Crew Rostering rules. He also claimed that the Board was closely involved with this matter for several months.

He said the collective focus of the Board and IndiGo’s Crisis Management Group has been to restore operations, support passengers, communicate transparently and prevent this from happening again. “Refunds worth several hundred crores have been processed. Hotel and travel assistance has been provided, and the remaining delayed baggage is now being delivered,” he stated.

“Last week’s events are a blemish on this airline’s pristine, clean record. Our company has erred. There is no denying this. It has now to build back your trust. This will not be easy. It will depend on actions not words. It will be a journey,” he said, while offering an unconditional apology.

Govt Ramps Up Scrutiny

This came after IndiGo’s inadequate preparation for the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FTDL) rules by the Centre led to widespread network-wide disruption in the airline’s operations, leading to hundreds of flights being cancelled. The disruption led to thousands of passengers being stranded and sparked an unprecedented crisis in India’s aviation system.

The crisis brought the aviation ecosystem on its knees and fuelled widespread criticism. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu blamed the disruption on IndiGo’s lapses and promised strict action. The DGCA has decided to constitute an Oversight Team that will be deployed to the airline’s corporate office in Gurugram to look into several aspects, including total fleet, pilot numbers, crew utilisation and unplanned leaves.

“Even as Indigo operations across the country have stabilised, we continue to closely oversee the operations through the Ministry’s Control Room,” Naidu said on X. “A regular vigil is being maintained for real-time resolution of passenger grievances and the Control Room team is making all efforts to further enhance response time for prompt and effective redressal of passenger concerns.”

Even as Indigo operations across the country have stabilised, we continue to closely oversee the operations through the Ministry’s Control Room.

A regular vigil is being maintained for real-time resolution of passenger grievances and the Control Room team is making all efforts… pic.twitter.com/EGC5O78ROH

— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) December 10, 2025

The DGCA has also directed IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to appear before the regulator on December 11 to submit comprehensive data and updates regarding the airline’s recent operational disruptions. According to the DGCA directive, the CEO, along with senior officials from all relevant departments, has been instructed to attend the meeting and present detailed information across key operational areas.