InterGlobe Aviation, which operates low-cost carrier IndiGo, has offered a bunch of commitments to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), including setting up a formal crisis management mechanism, temporarily surrendering unused airport slots during large-scale disruptions, offering automatic refunds and fare protection to passengers, and creating a dedicated grievance redressal system, in an attempt to settle an ongoing probe against it.
The CCI on Friday invited public comments on the carrier’s commitment proposal, giving stakeholders time until August 13 to submit suggestions before deciding whether to accept these commitments.
Key Commitments
Among the key proposals, IndiGo has offered to create a Crisis Management Group (CMG) that would be activated within 15 minutes of any large-scale disruption, with senior executives from operations, safety, crew, engineering, customer experience, IT and communications coordinating the airline’s response. “Mock drills will be conducted periodically to evaluate the effectiveness of the same,” the CCI notice said.
To address concerns over capacity constraints, IndiGo has offered to temporarily release domestic landing and departure slots to airport authorities during large-scale disruptions. The airline has also proposed several passenger-centric measures, including providing alternative flights within 48-72 hours at no additional cost, automatic refunds where re-accommodation is not possible, compensation under DGCA rules, complimentary meals and water, hotel accommodation for eligible passengers, surface transport where feasible, and priority assistance for passengers with special needs. It has further committed not to charge fares beyond the tariff bands filed with the DGCA during such disruption periods and to establish a dedicated 24×7 customer experience war room for faster grievance redressal.
For the commitment proposal, a large-scale disruption means cancellation of over 30% of the airline’s scheduled daily flights due to reasons within its control, excluding disruptions caused by weather, technical issues, regulatory restrictions, strikes, airport closures or force majeure.
Background
IndiGo offered these commitments after the CCI ordered a detailed investigation against the airline in February this year. The case stems from a complaint alleging that IndiGo abused its dominant position after cancelling thousands of flights during the December 2025 operational disruptions, leaving over three lakh passengers stranded and forcing many to buy expensive last-minute tickets. Subsequently, the CCI prima facie held that IndiGo had abused its dominant position under Sections 4(2)(a)(i) and 4(2)(b)(i) of the Competition Act.
In its application, IndiGo though has maintained that it has complied with competition law and has not admitted any violation, arguing that the disruptions were a one-off event caused by “a confluence of unfortunate and partially unforeseen circumstances that led to temporary operational inefficiencies.”
