IndiGo’s ongoing flight cancellation crisis continued to trouble flyers across the country on Friday, with thousands of passengers waiting in long lines at major airports to check the status of their flights. As concerns grew, the airline’s chief executive officer Pieter Elbers released a video message apologising for the disruptions and giving a tentative timeline for when operations might return to normal.
Elbers said the airline expects regular operations to stabilise only between December 10 and 15, and admitted that the situation would “take some time” to fix because of the size and complexity of IndiGo’s network. He also confirmed that December 5 had been the worst day so far, with cancellations crossing 1,000 flights.
In his message, Elbers said he was “deeply sorry” for the inconvenience faced by thousands of travellers. Many passengers spent hours in terminals on Friday, hoping for clarity on their flights as airport crowds kept increasing through the day. 
The CEO said the airline has put in place three main measures to deal with the crisis.
The first focus area, he said, is clear communication with passengers, including updates on refunds, cancellations and customer support. He added that IndiGo has increased its call centre capacity so that more passengers can get help.
The second step is helping those who were stranded at major airports due to Thursday’s disruptions. Elbers said the airline aimed to ensure that these travellers would be able to fly on Friday itself. He also urged customers not to come to the airport if their flight had already been cancelled, since they would receive notifications directly.
The third measure involves planned cancellations for the day so that IndiGo can realign its aircraft and crew in the correct locations for smoother operations from Saturday onward.
Elbers said IndiGo’s staff and frontline teams have been “working relentlessly” to tackle the situation. He admitted that the disruptions had shaken customer confidence that the airline had built over nearly two decades, but stressed that every effort was being made to rebuild that trust.
For now, passengers continue to face uncertainty as the airline works to stabilise operations. Many travellers across India are hoping the situation improves in the coming days, as IndiGo attempts to balance its schedule and return to normal operations by mid-December.
