Govt punishment for IndiGo sends hol plans into tailspin
Times of India | 11 December 2025
Kolkata: Hundreds of holidayers booked on IndiGo Airlines to various destinations during the winter vacation are faced with uncertainty.
They are unsure if their pre-booked flights will operate or be among the 200-plus flights that will be axed by regulator DGCA for the airline's failure to recruit enough pilots to ensure smooth operations this winter.
IndiGo's summer schedule allowed it to operate 14,158 weekly domestic flights. This rose by 6% in the winter schedule starting Oct 26, with approvals to fly 64,346 domestic flights in Nov. The 10% cut now means thousands of departures may not operate over the next several weeks — the peak holiday rush period. In Kolkata, this amounts to roughly 18 flights per day.
Though IndiGo has recovered from last week's chaos, it is yet to resume all flights that were operating prior to Dec 3. With flights set to be pulled off the roster days before departure, and fares on other airlines skyrocketing, some Kolkatans have decided to postpone or abandon their planned holidays as they want the turbulence to end before they venture out.
"We had booked a family trip to Meghalaya three months ago. From flights to cars and resorts, everything was pre-booked. But now we have to cancel everything as IndiGo cancelled the flight next week on which we were booked," said Sulobha Roy, who owns a garments chain in the city. Roy's friend, Debasree Das, who was also supposed to join her on the trip, said the airline told them that it would give them a refund for the cancelled flight from Kolkata, but since they were cancelling the return flight from Guwahati, a portion of the money would be deducted as usual. They would also lose booking amounts of hotels and cabs. According to travel agents, several hotel and resort owners across popular travel destinations in northeast India, Goa, Kerala, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands said a noticeable spike in cancellations has already begun.
Travel agents said that while cancellations earlier were linked to crew shortages and operational disruption, the new round is largely due to the mandatory schedule reduction. With Christmas and New Year weeks ahead, thousands of travellers remain on edge.
"IndiGo is cancelling flights up to 10–12 days in advance to realign their network. But passengers are bearing the brunt," said Puja Sengupta, a graphic designer. Several corporates too are affected, with employees unsure whether upcoming travel commitments will hold. Soumya Mukherjee, who works with an MNC, said: "Two of my Dec work trips have already been disrupted because flights on the Delhi and Bengaluru routes were pulled off the roster." Passengers say they are receiving refunds or free rescheduling options from IndiGo, but those booking fresh on other carriers are facing fares that have surged two to three times.