IndiGo’s board chairman, Vikram Singh Mehta, has finally made a public statement to clear the air. After last week’s huge flight cancellations and delays, Mehta rejected claims that the airline caused the chaos on purpose or tried to influence the government over new crew rest rules called the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL). He also said the airline’s board has been fully aware and involved in these issues.
Message from Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director of IndiGo –
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 10, 2025
“…Over the past week, our airline has faced major operational disruptions that have personally affected many of our valued customers. I know how much distress this has caused. I want to… pic.twitter.com/Sgye88UOS0
What caused the Flight disruptions
Mehta explained that the disruptions were not due to any deliberate action by IndiGo. Instead, they happened due to a mix of internal problems and unexpected outside factors. He listed things like small technical glitches, changes with the start of the winter schedule, bad weather, overcrowded airports, and, most importantly, the recent implementation of the updated crew rostering rules for pilots.
These new rules require pilots to have more rest and limit flying hours, especially during late-night flights, to reduce pilot fatigue and improve safety.
The new FDTL rules were supposed to be put in place last year, but were delayed. They came into effect in two parts, on 1st July and 1st November of this year. The biggest impact was seen with the November phase, forcing airlines like IndiGo to either hire more pilots or reduce some flights. IndiGo’s systems got overwhelmed by this combination of challenges, Mehta said, but insisted, “This is not an excuse, just the truth.”
Board’s role and response
Some critics questioned whether the IndiGo board was paying enough attention before the crisis hit. Mehta responded by saying the board and its risk management committee have been engaged and have received all necessary information from the management for months. He emphasised that the board was involved right from the start.
However, Mehta did not specifically say if the board knew that the airline wasn’t fully ready for the new rules or whether they tried to intervene before the November rollout. The IndiGo board includes well-known names like co-founder and Managing Director Rahul Bhatia, former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, ex-SEBI chief M Damodaran, former US FAA administrator Michael Whitaker, former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, and legal expert Pallavi Shroff.
Steps taken to fix the situation
Right after the disruptions began on the first day, IndiGo’s board had an emergency meeting and quickly set up a crisis management group. Since then, board members have been in constant contact with the management. The crisis team meets every day, focusing on restoring flights, helping passengers, communicating clearly, and preventing such problems in the future.
Mehta highlighted that IndiGo’s operations are now back on track, better and faster than expected. On Tuesday, 9th December, the airline flew over 1,800 flights to all destinations, with on-time performance above 80%. The airline planned to operate 1,900 flights on Wednesday, 10th December. The worst day was Friday last week, 6th December, with 1,600 flight cancellations, but the situation has steadily improved.
Regulator’s response and probe
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, stated that IndiGo told them the disruption happened mainly due to “misjudgement and planning gaps” in handling the second phase of the FDTL rules. IndiGo admitted it did not fully anticipate how many pilots would be needed under the new guidelines.
Since IndiGo dominates the Indian domestic airline market with over 60% share, the disruption caused chaos across the country’s entire commercial flight system. The DGCA has now given IndiGo some temporary relief from the new rules to help it manage better, while also launching an official probe into the crisis.
IndiGo’s board members commitment
Mehta apologised to the passengers affected by the disruption, saying the airline takes full responsibility and wants to learn from this mistake. IndiGo is conducting a root-cause analysis to find out exactly what went wrong.
“We owe answers to our customers, government, shareholders, and employees,” Mehta said. The board has decided to bring in an outside technical expert to work closely with management to figure out the causes and make sure such problems never happen again.
Vikram Singh Mehta said he waited to speak until operations were more stable because the board’s priority was to support the CEO Pieter Elbers and the team, restore flights, and assist passengers. Now that the airline’s situation is improving, he felt it was the right moment to update everyone and assure them of IndiGo’s commitment to fix this issue once and for all.
