Civil Aviation Ministry Trims 10% Of IndiGo's Routes To Stabilise Flight Operations

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has curtailed the IndiGo routes, trimming 10% of its scheduled flights to stabilise the operations. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Tuesday announced that the government has ordered IndiGo to cut about 10 per cent of its scheduled flights, asserting that the move was essential to bring stability after a massive 7‑day crisis that left thousands of travellers stranded at airports across the country. 

In a post on X, the minister blamed the airline’s own mishandling of crew rosters, flight timetables and a lack of clear communication for the widespread inconvenience. He posted on social media:  

"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 stabilization measures. 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. The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilizing the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before. Indigo has been instructed to comply with all the directives of the Ministry, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures, without any exception."

An official inquiry into the airline breakdown has already been ordered and is underway to ascertain the cause. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said it has already held a further review with IndiGo’s senior executives to check on progress. As part of that process, the airline’s Chief Executive Pieter Elbers was called on Tuesday again. Elbers confirmed that every refund for tickets on flights disrupted up to December 6 has now been paid out, and he assured the ministry that the remaining refunds and the return of delayed baggage are being fast‑tracked .

The 10 per cent reduction is intended to ease pressure on IndiGo’s network and to curb the risk of more cancellations. Despite the cut, the carrier will still be required to serve all its existing destinations, and it must obey the government’s price caps and any other passenger‑friendly measures without exception. The ministry has also warned that further penalties could follow if the airline does not meet the new standards .

The regulator, the DGCA, had already ordered a 5 per cent cut to IndiGo’s schedule and warned that more slots would be re‑allocated to rival airlines if the situation does not improve . Sources stated that the government is also preparing to re‑assign some of the freed‑up slots to other carriers to relieve the passenger backlog .

The incident has brought to the fore the dominance of a single airline in India’s aviation market, with critics urging the authorities to encourage more competition. The ministry, however, stressed that no carrier, however large, will be allowed to cause hardship to the public through planning failures .