'Couldn't Live Up To Promise': IndiGo CEO Laments After Stirring Upheaval For Thousands Of Passengers

New Delhi: In an internal letter to IndiGo employees, CEO Pieter Elbers apologised and acknowledged the major disruptions caused by the airline that led to the mass cancellation of scores of flight across key cities in India. The subject of the letter, which acknowledged the difficulty faced by IndiGo passengers, was “Stronger Together”.

The letter read, “Dear IndiGo colleagues, These past few days have been difficult for many of our IndiGo customers and colleagues. We serve close to 380,000 customers a day and want each of them to have a good experience.” Pieter Elbers lamented that IndiGo “could not live up to that promise these past days”. He added that the airline has publicly apologised for the crisis.

‘Operational Challenges’

Listing a number of reasons for the disruptions, Elbers said, “An accumulation of several operational challenges - including minor technology glitches, schedule changes, adverse weather conditions, heightened congestion in the aviation ecosystem, and the implementation of the newly released FDTL norms - compounded negatively to create a cascading impact on our operations.”

Further, the CEO expressed gratitude and appreciation to all his colleagues, including pilots, cabin crew, OCC, engineers, customer support, digital and frontline staff, and their leadership teams who are “working tirelessly to manage the situation, minimise the impact, and restore stability as quickly as possible”. 

“We are also grateful to our partners in the industry - Airports, ATC and regulatory bodies - who are doing their best to help in this complex moment,” he added. He noted that the airline has faced tough moments before, but “we turned challenges into triumphs, proving our resilience, strength, and unity.” “This moment will be no different,” he assured the employees.

‘Feeling Customers’ Anxieties'

The CEO added, “We are feeling our customers' concern and anxieties just as deeply. We are proactively reaching out to affected customers and helping them in every way possible to ease their discomfort. Given the size, scale and complexity of our network, these disruptions grow large immediately and require interventions on multiple levels and dimensions. For that a lot of work is being conducted right now.”

'Our Goal Is To Normalise Operations'

The CEO stated that the airline's immediate goal is to normalize its operations and bring punctuality back on track in the coming days. He admitted that this is “not an easy target”. 

'We Will Emerge Stronger'

The CEO tried to boost the morale of his employees, saying, “This is the time for all of us to come together, prove our mettle once again and showcase what IndiGo truly stands for. Just a few days ago, we performed remarkably well as a united team to achieve an unimaginable feat of upgrading 200 aircraft (A320s) in less than 24 hours. I am confident we all can deal with this challenge too.”

He added, “Together, as one team, we will overcome this challenge and emerge even stronger.”

Also Read- DGCA Rejects IndiGo's Explanation On Crisis, Seeks Time-Bound Solution