It has been a difficult week for IndiGo airline. What began as widespread flight cancellations has now escalated into a crisis of credibility for India’s largest airline. Adding to its woes, an unverified and anonymously authored “open letter”, making rounds on social media, has alleged that IndiGo’s top leadership is directly responsible for the operational meltdown that has disrupted thousands of passengers.
The letter comes just as aviation regulator DGCA issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo’s CEO Pieter Elbers over “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management”. The letter’s authenticity has not been verified independently by financialexpress.com. We have reached out to IndiGo for a comment and this report will be updated with airlines’ response accordingly.
The letter is claimed to be written by a long-serving IndiGo insider who “lived every sleepless night, every squeezed pay cheque and every impossible roster”. As per the letter, the airline’s current state was “years in the making”. “Everyone saw it — passengers, employees, the government. But we all looked away and now we blame this to monopoly,” the letter read.
Culture of fatigue and intimidation
The letter accused senior management of ignoring repeated safety warnings from flight crew, aggravating a staffing crisis through exhausting rosters and promoting “unqualified executives” while sidelining experienced personnel.
“The real rot started when titles became more important than talent. Suddenly, people who couldn’t even draft a proper email were becoming VPs — because being a VP meant access to ESOPs and power. And how do you justify that power? By squeezing the employees under you,” the letter stated.
Pilot fatigue, safety complaints went unheard
Among the most serious allegations raised in the letter were claims about how IndiGo handled pilot fatigue and safety complaints. According to the letter, pilots who voiced concerns were not heard but instead “called to head office, intimidated, shouted at and humiliated”.
The letter went on to state that night shifts were doubled and leave approvals reduced, all without regard for the physical strain on crew members. It further alleged that safety issues were routinely suppressed because management prioritised on-time performance metrics above all else. “No consequences. No accountability. Just fear…Ground staff, some barely earning Rs 16,000-18,000 a month, kept running from aircraft to aircraft, sometimes doing the work of three people,” it read.
Even the treatment of customers reportedly reflected this shift in company culture. The author claimed that employees were instructed to avoid calling travellers “passengers”, with the justification that “if you call them passengers, they’ll think they own the airline”.
CEO on holiday as crisis escalated, letter claims
The letter named eight senior officials it alleged were responsible, including CEO Elbers, who was reportedly travelling in the Netherlands during the early days of the chaos. Others named include top leaders from operations and control functions such as Isidore Porqueras (operations), Ashim Mitra (flight operations) and Jason Herter (operations control centre).
None of the executives named have commented so far.
Regulatory scrutiny intensifies
The public allegations surfaced amid one of IndiGo’s worst operational disruptions. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or delayed across major airports in recent days which has led to DGCA action and government directives to fast-track refunds.
However, the letter stated that no union or regulator ever came forward to support employees in times of need. “We felt alone. Always alone. When pilots tried to move abroad, licence validations were delayed endlessly. Everyone inside aviation knows this reality. And yes—at one point there were even “unofficial prices” whispered about for faster processing. When fatigue rules changed in ways that made our schedules even more brutal, there was no representation, no union strong enough to stand up, and no regulator who pushed back,” the letter stated.