IndiGo, facing intense public criticism after a week-long operational meltdown, has announced that it will issue additional travel vouchers worth ₹10,000 to passengers who were most severely affected by its mass flight cancellations and delays. The airline clarified that these vouchers will apply only to travellers who flew — or were scheduled to fly — between December 3 and 5, the period when its system-wide collapse caused widespread disruption across the country. IndiGo, however, has not explained how it intends to identify which passengers qualify as “severely impacted.”
The low-cost carrier acknowledged that many customers were stranded at airports for hours as thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed due to a massive crew shortage. In its statement, IndiGo said the vouchers can be used for any of its flights for up to 12 months and emphasised that the offer is an additional goodwill gesture beyond what government regulations require.
Under India’s passenger-rights guidelines, travellers whose flights are cancelled within 24 hours of departure are entitled to compensation ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000, depending on block time — the total period an aircraft is considered operational, from pushback at origin to arrival at its parking bay. IndiGo confirmed that this statutory compensation will be paid, in addition to the ₹10,000 vouchers for the worst-affected flyers.
The announcement comes as IndiGo attempts to recover from one of the most serious operational disruptions in Indian aviation history. The airline said it had restored full operational stability by Thursday and expected to operate more than 1,950 flights by the end of the day. Its on-time performance, which had plunged to around 30% at the height of the crisis, has rebounded to over 92% over the past two days.
IndiGo also disclosed that it has already processed over ₹800 crore in refunds for cancellations, marking a significant financial hit. Meanwhile, the government has launched a comprehensive probe into the meltdown and ordered IndiGo to cut 10% of its scheduled flights for the winter season — a reduction of around 200 flights — to ensure smoother operations and prevent another collapse.
