IndiGo CEO: Fewer Than 1,000 Flights to Be Cancelled Tomorrow, Operations Normal by Dec 15

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology on Friday evening after the airline cancelled more than a thousand flights, calling it the “most severely impacted day” yet.

India’s largest carrier scrapped “more than half” of its daily operations, Elbers confirmed. While disruptions will continue on Saturday, IndiGo expects fewer than 1,000 cancellations.

Elbers said full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though recovery will be gradual given the airline’s scale—IndiGo operates around 2,300 flights daily.

The CEO attributed the crisis to a mix of factors, including new flight duty regulations that raise pilots’ weekly rest requirement from 36 to 48 hours and restrict night landings to two per week, down from six. He acknowledged “misjudgment and planning gaps” in how the airline responded to the changes.

Elbers outlined three key steps IndiGo is taking to stabilise operations.
First, the airline has expanded customer communication through detailed advisories on refunds, cancellations, and support measures, and strengthened call centre capacity.

Second, IndiGo prioritised clearing stranded passengers at major airports, urging customers with cancelled flights not to travel to airports unnecessarily. Third, the airline implemented extensive cancellations on Friday to reposition crew and aircraft for a “fresh start” on Saturday. Earlier corrective measures, Elbers said, “were not enough,” prompting a full system and schedule reset.

As major airports faced chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo temporary relief from the new night-duty limits for pilots and permitted converting certain leave days into weekly rest. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a high-level inquiry will be initiated and accountability will be ensured.

IndiGo chief executive Pieter Elbers apologised to passengers on Friday after the airline was forced to cancel over a thousand flights, describing it as the “most severely impacted day” for the carrier. IndiGo cut “more than half” of its scheduled operations, though Elbers said cancellations on Saturday would stay below 1,000. The airline expects operations to stabilise fully between December 10 and 15.

IndiGo, which runs roughly 2,300 flights a day, has been grappling with widespread disruptions triggered by new pilot duty norms that increase mandatory weekly rest to 48 hours and reduce night landings per pilot from six to two. Admitting “misjudgment and planning gaps,” Elbers said the airline was working to restore stability.

He detailed a three-point plan focused on strengthening customer communication, ensuring stranded passengers were moved on priority, and undertaking a large-scale reset of schedules and crew deployment to realign resources for the weekend.

With congestion and long queues reported at major airports, the DGCA stepped in to offer temporary exemptions from the stricter night-duty rules and allowed substitution of leave with weekly rest. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced that a high-level inquiry would investigate the disruptions and identify accountability.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers apologised after the airline cancelled more than 1,000 flights on Friday—its worst day of disruptions yet. The carrier scrapped over half its schedule, blaming new pilot rest rules and “planning gaps.” While fewer than 1,000 flights are expected to be cancelled on Saturday, IndiGo says full normalisation will only come between December 10 and 15.

IndiGo listed a three-step response plan: expanded customer communication, clearing stranded passengers at major hubs, and a major reset of crew and aircraft schedules to stabilise operations. DGCA has granted temporary relaxation of the new duty norms, while the aviation minister has ordered a high-level inquiry.