IndiGo’s woes do not seem to stop, with the airline reportedly cancelling 60 flights from Bengaluru airport on Thursday, its major hub of operations. According to a source, agencies reported that IndiGo cancelled 32 arrivals and 28 departures from Kempegowda International Airport, Karnataka.
This new development comes on the heels of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) tightening the noose around domestic airline operations in India regarding implementing the latest FDTL (pilot and crew duty) norms. The aviation watchdog also summoned IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and demanded a comprehensive report, including data and updates, on the recent operational disruptions on Thursday.
On Wednesday, IndiGo had cancelled 137 flights in Delhi, and many more in Bengaluru and Mumbai. The total cancellations across the three airports stood at 220 flights. It was on the same day that IndiGo Chairman Vikram Mehta apologised for the massive disruptions due to a combo of internal and external "unanticipated" events.
Now, on the eleventh day since the major flight disruptions, IndiGo is still going through a bit of turbulence. It recently cut its third-quarter guidance, too.
On Wednesday, it posted, "based on our current estimates, we expect a downward moderation to our earlier communicated Q3 2025-26 guidance on a year-over-year comparison basis". IndiGo now sees "mid-single digit (%) downward moderation" in passenger unit revenues for the quarter versus the earlier outlook of "flattish to slight growth".
However, ratings agencies still have faith in IndiGo's parent Interglobe Aviation to bring it back in the next fiscal.
Raings firm ICRA noted: "Profitability for the current fiscal will remain under pressure, not only from operational disruptions but also from the depreciation of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar. IndiGo’s financial leverage (net debt, including lease liabilities, minus free cash/ EBITDAR) in FY2026 is likely to breach ICRA’s negative trigger of 2.5x."
But it did not see much long-term impact.
"In its base case, ICRA does not expect the breach to persist in the next fiscal, implying that the medium-term credit impact of this event should be largely manageable. ICRA continues to take comfort from the company’s dominant market share in the Indian aviation industry, strong growth prospects supported by low air travel penetration in India, and the company’s strong balance sheet characterised by a healthy liquidity profile, marked by unencumbered cash and equivalents of around Rs 38,500 crore as on September 30, 2025. The large liquidity buffers give IndiGo a significant cushion to bear the near-term earnings pressure as well as meet its investment requirements, without raising new debt," the ratings firm said in a statement.
Message from Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director of IndiGo pic.twitter.com/sySacxlFq0
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) December 10, 2025
Despite all this, pilots' associations are slamming IndiGo. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) recently said that other airlines had adequate pilots and prepared well in advance, given the two-year preparatory window before full FDTL implementation, but InsiGo allegedly did not. Instead, they chose to "inexplicably adopt a hiring freeze, entered non-poaching arrangements, maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour, and demonstrated other short-sighted planning practices," FIP alleged.
