Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu apologised for the IndiGo fiasco and assured that the government will take strict action against those responsible to prevent such situations in the future, TOI reported. He added that the pattern of flight cancellations appears intentional and stated that he would not hesitate to remove the IndiGo CEO if necessary.
‘Will definitely sack IndiGo CEO if…’
Naidu said that he would “sack” IndiGo CEO, Pieter Elbers, “if it comes to that”. He, per a report by TOI, added, “I will charge them with all the penalties that are there. Definitely, I will look into all of those aspects….”
“For the past seven days, I have not slept properly. I’ve just been sitting in the office doing continuous review meetings. My focus was on the passengers,” he further told TOI.
‘I’m apologising. I’m also responsible…’
Naidu, in an interview with TOI, apologised and acknowledged his own responsibility for the situation, stating that as the Civil Aviation Minister, it is his duty to ensure the sector does not face such problems.
“I’m apologising. I’m also responsible as a minister to ensure that this sector is flying high,” he told TOI before adding, “When these kinds of incidents happen, it puts extra responsibility on me.”
He also said that he will ensure that things are normalised and those responsible are held accountable. “…And to ensure that such situations don’t arise in the future. While keeping safety and passenger rights intact, if not strengthened,” he further told TOI.
Naidu expressed his sympathy with those who spent huge amounts on flight tickets and has taken into account the point to compensate them.
‘Indigo messed up its crew management, rostering’
In an interview with Times Now, Naidu said that the government held a meeting with IndiGo to address its concerns regarding FDTL and had provided all necessary clarifications. Despite this, he said, the airline still messes up its own internal crew management and rostering.
“We had a meeting on 1st December 2025 on FDTL with Indigo. We have given all every chance for IndiGo to speak with us on FDTL. They have asked for clarifications; whatever clarifications we were supposed to give after due consultation, we have given them. Even after that, it was Indigo which had messed up its own internal crew management and crew rostering,” he told Times Now.
He added that responsibility should not be shifted away from IndiGo, noting that it was the only airline significantly affected by the FDTL rules.
“Don’t take away the responsibility of the airlines here. They have to be responsible, accountable in this issue. And if there was a difficulty, then it has to be faced by all the airlines,” he added.
Govt orders IndiGo to slash flight schedule by 10%
Amid the ongoing fiasco, the government has ordered IndiGo to cut down its flight schedule by 10 per cent, double of what the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had ordered.
“The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall IndiGo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding by it, IndiGo will continue to cover all its destinations as before,” Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said Tuesday in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Naidu said that Elbers was “summoned” to the ministry to provide an update on the airline’s stabilisation measures.
“During the last week, many passengers faced severe inconvenience due to IndiGo’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication. While the enquiry and necessary actions are underway, another meeting with IndiGo’s top management was held to review the stabilisation measures,” he added.
Naidu further said, “Today again, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers was summoned to the Ministry to provide an update. He confirmed that 100% of the refunds for flights affected till 6th December have been completed. A strict instruction to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover was given.”
‘IndiGo operations normalised’
IndiGo, in a statement yesterday before the government announced flight cuts, said that it has “reinstated” its operations across the network. “Today, we are operating more than 1800 flights, connecting all 138 stations in our network, and plan to fly nearly 1900 flights tomorrow. We have optimised our operations, and our on-time performance is also back to normal levels,” the statement said.
It added that customers can claim full refunds through the airline’s website for cancellations, and noted that nearly all baggage at the airport has already been returned. The remaining bags, it said, will be delivered at the earliest.