IndiGo will on Friday begin issuing travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000 to passengers affected by the operational crisis that disrupted thousands of its flights in the first week of December.
In addition, passengers
whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of their scheduled departure will receive compensation ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000, in line with guidelines issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The compensation amount will vary depending on the flight’s block time.
According to IndiGo, the travel vouchers will be valid for 12 months and can be used on any IndiGo flight. The airline said these vouchers will be issued to passengers from specific flights that were identified earlier as being impacted by the disruption.
IndiGo also stated that it has already begun processing refunds for cancelled flights and claimed that most affected passengers have received their refunds. Those who are yet to receive them will be credited shortly. Refunds for tickets booked through travel agents and online platforms are also being processed.
From December 26 onwards, IndiGo teams will start reaching out to passengers whose contact details are available with the airline. For those who booked tickets via travel agents or partner platforms, IndiGo is coordinating with these partners to obtain passenger contact information. Once the details are received, affected passengers will be contacted directly and issued travel vouchers.
In cases where passengers cannot be reached, IndiGo will launch a dedicated webpage from January 1, allowing customers to submit their flight details to claim the voucher.
The airline acknowledged that passengers travelling between December 3 and December 5 faced significant inconvenience, with many stranded at airports for hours due to operational disruptions. The crisis, which began on December 2, continued for nearly 10 days, impacting thousands of travellers across the country. It was mainly due to a lack of planning in implementing the new flight duty norms for pilots.
Over 2,000 flights were cancelled in a week, stranding thousands during peak travel season, primarily in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi.
In the wake of the disruptions, the Civil Aviation Ministry reduced IndiGo’s winter flight schedule by 10% and also imposed airfare caps to curb steep increases in air ticket prices.
A high-level panel is probing IndiGo’s operational disruptions, and DGCA also issued a show-cause notice to CEO Pieter Elbers.
