The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday imposed a penalty of Rs 22.2 crore on IndiGo over the massive flight disruptions experienced by the airlines in December. This comes after more than three lakh passengers were stranded at airports across India.
The aviation regulator's actions comes after the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation ordered a probe. Following this, a four-member committee formed by the DGCA launched detailed inquiry into the airline's operations between December 3 and 5, 2025.
A total of 2,507 flights were cancelled and 1,852 were delayed due to the disruptions. The committee found issues such as over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness and deficiencies.
The total penalty of Rs 22.2 crore include Rs 1.8 crore in one-time penalty for six instances of non-compliance with Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs). These included failures in effectively implementing Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms and properly delegating operational control as well as issues with accountable management.
Besides, there is a daily penalty of Rs 30 lakh for 68 days of non-compliance. IndiGo was also imposed with a bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore.
Responding to the DGCA penalties, IndiGo said it will take full cognizance of the orders and take appropriate measures.
"The Board and the Management of IndiGo are committed to taking full cognizance of the orders and will, in a thoughtful and timely manner, take appropriate measures. Additionally, an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of the internal processes at IndiGo has been underway since the disruption to ensure that the airline emerges stronger out of these events in its otherwise pristine record of 19+ years of operations,” Indigo stated.
