New Delhi, 8 December (H.S.): India’s largest airline, IndiGo, continued to face severe operational disruptions on Monday, with over 500 flights cancelled across major airports including Delhi, Srinagar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Patna. The airline has set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG) to restore full operational capacity, expedite passenger refunds, and ensure timely assistance amid the ongoing crisis.

In a statement, IndiGo said the CMG is closely monitoring the situation, with top priority being the “restoration of 100% operational capability, accurate and timely passenger communication, and accelerated refund and rescheduling processes.” The airline clarified that its board has been “actively engaged” since the onset of the crisis, holding regular meetings — the first of which took place on December 4, when the CMG was formally constituted.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, while responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, attributed the disruption to issues within IndiGo’s crew rostering and internal planning systems. “We are not taking this incident lightly. The inconvenience to passengers is unacceptable. The government will ensure corrective action that serves as a precedent for the entire aviation sector,” he remarked.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, IndiGo has already returned 4,500 checked-in bags to affected passengers, while another 4,500 are expected to be delivered within the next 36 hours. Between December 1 and 7, a total of 586,705 tickets were cancelled, leading to passenger refunds amounting to ₹569.65 crore.

From November 21 to December 7, a total of 955,591 tickets were refunded, totaling ₹827 crore, the ministry reported.While IndiGo has cancelled nearly 500 flights, it plans to operate 1,802 services across 137 of its 138 destinations as part of its recovery schedule for Monday.

The Delhi Airport Authority issued a passenger advisory, cautioning that delays may persist and urging travelers to check flight statuses with the airline before heading to the airport.In light of widespread cancellations, Indian Railways announced special train services across multiple routes to accommodate stranded passengers.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said the situation is “steadily improving” and operations are expected to normalize by December 10. The airline appealed for passenger patience and encouraged checking for continuous updates via official channels.The operational crisis also impacted the stock market, with shares of IndiGo’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, tumbling over 7% on Monday.

At 11:30 a.m., the stock was trading at ₹4,971.75 on the BSE, down 7.44% from the previous close.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar