IndiGo Offers Rs 10,000 Travel Vouchers For 'Severely Impacted' Passengers Amid Massive Aviation Chaos

New Delhi: The airline has said that the passengers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure will get Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 travel vouchers. A flat Rs 10,000 voucher has been announced for 'severely impacted' passengers. The vouchers will be valid for booking any IndiGo flight over the next 12 months. The move comes amid the massive operational breakdown that descended into pure chaos when IndiGo cancelled more than 1000 flights crippling the aviation system of the country. 

Indigo, that hold the lion's share of the domestic aviation market in India, is accused of causing the crisis by neglecting to plan for new crew-rostering rules that grant more rest to staff. This failure led to an inadequate number of legally rested personnel, forcing the airline to ground more than 50% of its planes. As the crowd of helpless passengers swelled in airports across the country, the airline barely managed to keep things afloat. While some passengers missed funerals of loves ones, exams they had been preparing for year, job interviews, some were unable to get to their own weddings. Some that were able to board flights, are still waiting for their luggage causing major inconvenience. Given the gravity of the situation, the vouchers offered by Indigo has triggered netizens. 

One user commented, “Instead of a voucher, can I get my luggage? Because forget voucher never traveling with Indigo even for free,” another remarked, “Travel vouchers worth ₹10,000 (that too for IndiGo travel only) while other airlines shamelessly charged at least ₹40,000 extra for alternative flights + mental and physical exhaustion + time wasted.”

Actions against Indigo

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation have taken firm action against IndiGo following the mass flight disruptions caused by the airline's failure to adequately plan for new crew-rostering rulesincluding mandating a 10% cut in IndiGo's scheduled flights to stabilize operations and reduce the burden on legally rested staff, alongside the imposition of temporary fare caps on certain routes to curb surge pricing by other carriers. Furthermore, the DGCA has issued show-cause notices to the airline's senior leadership, including the CEO, and has deployed a dedicated oversight team of officials stationed at IndiGo's headquarters to monitor daily operations, crew management, and passenger facilitation in real-time, with the Aviation Minister vowing "very, very strict action" based on the ongoing inquiry's findings.

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