'We failed our customers': Why IndiGo CEO says December disruptions lasted only 'three days'

NEW DELHI: After lakhs of IndiGo passengers were left stranded in December, CEO Pieter Elbers, in a first press interaction after the flight disruption last month, said that the airline failed its customers 'for three days'.When the media pointed out that the disruptions went on for more than three days, Elbers replied, “What you reported beyond the three days were the proactive cancellations made by the airline and we ensured that we inform our customers beforehand.”“We cannot let three days define what IndiGo has built over 20 years. We have to learn from it. We’re on a journey to become one of the largest operators in the world and an airline that matches the size, potential and opportunity of India,” he added. The CEO Elbers said quick corrective steps helped the airline stabilise operations within 4 days, with passenger numbers returning to nearly 3.7-3.8 lakh a day. The quick recovery was also acknowledged by the regulator.“We let our customers down on those three days, and we apologise,” Elbers said. “By the fifth day, we began resetting our network. We took deep cuts for the following days and started rebuilding. By the ninth day, operations were stable again. We tried to inform passengers on time, offer alternatives, and reroute them to other flights. By the end of December, we were back to carrying 3.7–3.8 lakh passengers daily.”Earlier, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) imposed penalties totalling Rs 22.20 crore on Indigo following widespread flight disruptions in early December 2025 that affected more than three lakh passengers across the country. The action came after a probe ordered by the ministry ofciivil aviation, which found that IndiGo had cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed 1,852 others between December 3 and 5, 2025.Elbers also highlighted India’s rapid aviation growth, saying the country has moved well beyond pre-Covid levels while many parts of the world are still recovering.Marking 20 years of operations, he said IndiGo carried 124 million passengers last year, operates more than 2,200 flights daily across 141 destinations, has a fleet of 440 aircraft, and has crossed the $10-billion revenue mark.“When much of the world is only slightly above pre-Covid levels, India is far ahead,” Elbers said. “We ended the year with 124 million passengers, up from 113 million the previous year, making IndiGo one of the world’s seven or eight largest airlines by size.”He added that IndiGo now flies to 96 cities within India, up from just 21 in 2015. “Today, 90% of India’s population lives within 100 km of an airport served by IndiGo. That is how we serve the nation,” he said.