09 December,2025 06:35 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
People look on as an Indigo airplane prepares for takeoff even as several flights of the airline were cancelled or delayed, at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi, Tuesday. Pic/PTI
Crisis-hit IndiGo on Tuesday said the airline is back on its feet and that operations have stabilised, even as it continues to address all passenger concerns.
In a fresh video message, IndiGo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Elbers said lakhs of passengers - whose flights were cancelled or delayed during the recent disruption - have already received full refunds, with the process continuing every day.
Elbers, however, did not comment on compensation for passengers whose flights were cancelled at the last minute or faced long delays. Under the Civil Aviation Ministry's passenger charter, airlines must provide mandatory compensation if they fail to inform travellers of a cancellation at least two weeks before departure. This compensation must also be issued automatically, without passengers having to request it.
"IndiGo is back on its feet, and our operations are stable. We've let you down when a major operational disruption happened, and we're sorry for that," Elbers said.
He added that while the airline had earlier indicated that normalcy would return between December 10 and 15, operations had already stabilised. "I can confirm now that today, as of December 9, our operations are fully stabilised, which means flights reflecting on our website are scheduled to operate with an adjusted network," he said.
Acknowledging the inconvenience caused, he noted, "Thousands of you could not travel, and we are profusely apologetic about that." He said the airline first focused on getting all stranded and delayed passengers safely to their destinations or back home before initiating refunds.
Elbers said lakhs of passengers have received full refunds, though he did not disclose the total amount disbursed. He added that most bags stuck at airports had been returned to passengers' homes, and teams were working to deliver the remaining luggage soon. "We also continue to address all customer needs," he emphasised.
He described the restoration of IndiGo's network as being carried out on a "war footing." "On December 5, we could only fly 700 flights. Thereafter, gradually yet steadily improving to 1,500 on December 6, 1,650 on December 7, 1,800 on Monday and Tuesday, more than 1,800," Elbers said.
As of Monday, IndiGo had resumed services to all 138 destinations in its network, he confirmed, adding that the airline's on-time performance had also returned to normal.
(With PTI inputs)
