IndiGo, India's largest domestic carrier, has faced a severe and escalating operational crisis marked by widespread flight cancellations and delays across its network, impacting thousands of passengers and significantly disrupting air travel in India. The disruption, which began around December 2, saw its on-time performance (OTP) plummet dramatically. On December 2, delays were reported at major airports like Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. By December 3, at least 150 flights were cancelled, with delays attributed to a technical outage affecting check-in systems, as well as operational reasons and low visibility due to weather conditions.

The situation worsened significantly on December 4, when more than 550 flights were cancelled. IndiGo's OTP, which had been 35% on December 2, sharply dropped to 19.7% on December 3, and further plunged to a mere 8.5% across six major metro airports (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata) on December 5. This marked the fourth consecutive day of severe operational troubles. Sources indicated that on December 5, IndiGo halted all departures from Chennai until 6 pm and suspended flights from Delhi Airport until midnight, with PTI reporting over 400 cancellations for that day alone, including 118 from Mumbai and 100 from Bengaluru.

The crisis led to overwhelming terminals across the country, with passengers reporting being stranded for long hours without updates, basic amenities like food and water, or access to functioning service counters. Delays often stretched beyond 12 hours at major hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and Goa. With IndiGo handling approximately 60-65% of India's domestic air traffic, its paralysis caused ripple effects, leading to higher fares, reduced seat availability, and congested terminals across the entire aviation sector, affecting even passengers flying with competing airlines.

IndiGo attributed these severe disruptions to a 'multitude of unforeseen operational challenges.' These include difficulties with roster planning due to the government's updated Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) implemented from November 1, leading to a crew shortage. Other contributing factors cited by the airline include minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, and increased congestion in the aviation system. In November, IndiGo had already cancelled 1,232 flights, with 755 due to crew constraints or FDTL limitations, 258 due to airport or airspace restrictions, 92 due to ATC system failures, and 127 for other reasons.

In response to the escalating crisis, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) intervened, expressing displeasure and directing IndiGo to provide a detailed recovery roadmap. This roadmap must cover pilot recruitment, training timelines, changes to crew rosters, and safety assessments. The regulator also mandated fortnightly progress reports from the airline. IndiGo has informed the DGCA that it expects 'normalised and stable operations' to be fully restored by February 10, 2026. Meanwhile, IndiGo's stock experienced a nearly 3% dip to ₹5,291.45 during Friday’s afternoon trading on the BSE, reflecting the financial impact of the operational turmoil. The airline's CEO, Pieter Elbers, apologized to staff, acknowledging that the company 'could not live up to (the) promise of providing (a) good experience to customers,' and stating the immediate goal is to normalize operations and restore punctuality.