Indian airline giant IndiGo faces one of its worst crises in its history as its flights have been getting cancelled left, right, and centre, creating chaos at multiple airports across the country.
Over 600 flights were cancelled on Friday alone—taking the total tally to 1,300—and the airline's on-time performance dropped to 8.5 per cent at six large airports on Thursday.
The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events. IndiGo teams are working diligently and making all efforts with the…
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) December 4, 2025
Despite IndiGo's focus on "streamlining its operations at the earliest" and fully returning to normal by February 10—the deadline it gave to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)—hundreds of passengers remain stranded nationwide.
How travel insurance could help
Travel insurance, which protects holders from financial loss caused by medical emergencies, trip cancellations, lost luggage, and even trip delays, comes in many forms—as a standalone policy, or as an add-on benefit with credit cards and Online Travel Aggregators (OTAs).
#WATCH | Delhi: Passengers at Indira Gandhi International Airport lose their cool as they speak with an IndiGo ground staff amid the airlines' nationwide flight delays and cancellations. pic.twitter.com/WqywinCuhG
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2025
As per a Moneycontrol report, the average claim size for domestic travel delay benefits is typically Rs 1,000-5,000, while cancellations or trip curtailment claims tend to be higher depending on non-refundable expenses.
Even if you didn't buy standalone travel insurance, chances are that it could come with your credit card. But here's the catch with most cards: you should have used the same card to book the flight you need insurance for.
"This one of the most underused benefits by customers," noted Saurabh Vijayvergia, Founder & CEO of CoverSure, as per the report.
Not just premium cards—several mid-tier credit cards also offer Rs 10,000-25,000 under complimentary travel insurance policies that cover flight delays, cancellations, missed connections and baggage delays.
Booking flight tickets via OTAs like MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, or even via certain travel agencies, gets you add-on travel insurance.
However, the payout amount you would get here varies widely. These are also trickier to claim, because they are subject to a number of terms and conditions.
However, even without insurance, in the case of cancelled flights, you do get a DGCA-mandated refund/alternate flight, in addition to refreshments for passengers already at the airport.
For delayed flights, you may get meals and/or hotel rooms with transfers, depending on how long the delay lasts (typically more than six hours).
