"Cost Of Centre's Monopoly Model": Rahul Gandhi On IndiGo "Fiasco"

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the IndiGo "fiasco" is the cost of the Centre's "monopoly model", as the country's biggest airline cancelled hundreds of flights for the fourth straight day.

Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said it is ordinary Indians who "pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness".

"IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt's monopoly model. Once again, it's ordinary Indians who pay the price - in delays, cancellations and helplessness," he posted on X.

"India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies," he added.

IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across India on Friday after failing to make sufficient changes to its roster planning to accommodate new government norms. The flight operations were hit at the airports in Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and other cities, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

IndiGo battles delays, cancellations as passengers bear the brunt of airline 'chaos'

NDTV's @jsamdaniel reports from Chennai, @TanushkaDutta from Delhi @ShivAroor @PadmajaJoshi @VishnuNDTV @GaurieD pic.twitter.com/iLY209V9JX

— NDTV (@ndtv) December 5, 2025

On Thursday, IndiGo, which says it operates about 2,200 flights daily, cancelled more than 500 flights, the most in a single day in its 20-year history. It told aviation watchdog DGCA that operations are expected to be fully stabilised by February 10 next year and sought temporary relaxations in flight duty norms.

Acknowledging that the flight disruptions happening for the past few days are primarily due to misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, IndiGo also informed the regulator that there will be more cancellations till December 8, and from that day, there will also be a reduction in services.

IndiGo Chaos

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday said it has taken "serious note" of the operational disruptions and cancellations of flights across IndiGo's network.

Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu also chaired a high-level review meeting with IndiGo's senior management. During the meeting, IndiGo presented data on cancellations and attributed the disruption to challenges in crew planning and implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, along with seasonal weather-related constraints.

Naidu expressed "clear displeasure" regarding the manner in which the situation has been handled by the airline, according to a statement from his office.

Reviewed the operations of Indigo along with senior officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA. I have instructed the DGCA and concerned officials at the Ministry to keep a close watch on the network and directed Indigo to normalize the operations at the earliest. In… pic.twitter.com/ZdqFXPOAvM

— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) December 4, 2025

He stressed that "ample preparatory time" had been available to ensure a seamless transition to the new regulatory requirements.

Naidu also directed IndiGo to urgently normalise operations and to ensure that there is "no increase in airfares" due to the current situation.

He also held a meeting with senior officers of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and directed that all airport directors must continuously monitor the situation on the ground and extend full support to all stranded passengers.