Centre orders high-level inquiry as IndiGo crisis deepens. All details inside

In an official statement, Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement it has decided to institute a comprehensive probe to assess the reasons behind the large-scale cancellations and delays affecting passengers nationwide.

“The inquiry will examine what went wrong at IndiGo, fix accountability wherever required, and recommend corrective measures to prevent such disruptions in future and ensure that passengers are not subjected to similar hardships again,” he said.

The decision comes amid a sharp escalation in flight disruptions on Friday, with private carriers cancelling hundreds of services across major airports. Nearly 500 flights scheduled for the day were reportedly cancelled, according to The Indian Express, with all domestic departures from Delhi — IndiGo’s largest operational hub — suspended until midnight.

Similar scenes of chaos were witnessed at major airports in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

The Minister said it remains fully alert to the difficulties being faced by passengers and is in continuous consultation with airlines and all relevant stakeholders to stabilise operations.

“Every necessary measure, including regulatory relaxations as permitted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is being taken to restore normalcy and minimise public inconvenience at the earliest,” he said.

IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier and long regarded for its punctual operations since its launch two decades ago, has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights this week due to a critical shortage of cockpit crew.

The large-scale disruptions and delays have dealt a significant blow to the airline’s reputation.