After the airline faced intense scrutiny over the cancellation of hundreds of flights earlier this month, IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers has reassured employees that "the worst is behind us" and that the carrier is regaining operational stability.
In an internal message to IndiGo employees, Elbers acknowledged that the past two weeks had been among the most challenging for the airline and its workforce. He praised staff across departments for standing "tall and united" during the crisis, calling their collective effort the backbone of IndiGo.
He said, "Dear Indigo colleagues, through the storm we are finding our wings again. The worst is behind us. These last two weeks have been very challenging for all of us. As Indigo employees, we stood tall and united, weathering the storm together with unwavering support for one another. Thank you to our pilots, cabin crew, airport staff, operations control, customer service and all functions who supported. Your collective dedication is the backbone of Indigo."
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The message comes after IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights over several days, leading to passenger inconvenience and regulatory attention.
In the message, Elbers further said that IndiGo since December 9 has restored its network to around 2,200 flights a day, calling the recovery as a testament to teamwork and the strength of the airline's operating principles.
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Outlining the path ahead, Elbers said the company would focus on three priorities: resilience, root cause analysis and rebuilding.
On resilience, the CEO said, "Bad weather, Irregular Operations Policy (IROP) season started this week and all the focus is to solidify operations and doing our level best to keep the operation stable and minimize impact of those external factors on operations and customers. A challenging period, always for us."
On root cause analysis, he added, "What we witnessed seems a compounding effect of several factors. Everyone wants answers. Speculations are circulating, but I encourage everyone, please stay calm, focus on your professional responsibilities and avoid engaging in such speculations. We need a full-scale analysis first. An external aviation expert has been appointed by the board to conduct a comprehensive root cause analysis. Similar disruptions occurred in other parts of the world with large airlines. While every crisis is unique, lessons from others will also help us strengthening our systems."
On rebuilding, Elbers said the leadership team, including himself, would travel across the network to meet employees, understand the challenges they faced and gather feedback. He said the combination of staff inputs and the findings of the root cause analysis would help make IndiGo stronger and better.
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Elbers also urged employees not to let the recent disruptions define the airline's nearly two-decade journey. Recalling IndiGo's beginnings, he said, "In 2006, 19 years ago, we started from one aircraft. We grew aircraft by aircraft, city by city. We attracted cabin crew, pilots, engineers, ground staff and professionals who wanted to be part of something bigger. Today, we are 65,000 proud Indigo colleagues and in these 19 years, over 850 million customers choose to fly with us. Indigo has spent nearly two decades serving the nation, connecting the remotest corners of India to the world with an unblemished safety record."
"We continue to serve India with the same focus that built this company, reliability, accessibility, discipline and customer focus," Elbers said, concluding the message on an optimistic note, "Through the storm, we found our wings again. From here on, onwards and upwards."
