‘The worst is behind us’: IndiGo CEO outlines recovery plan after disruptions

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers, in yet another video message to the airline's customers, has said that even though the past few days have tested IndiGo as an organisation, the worst is behind. He stressed that now that the carrier has stabilised its operations and looks ahead, it will prioritise strengthening systems while building an airline that India trusts.

Appreciating IndiGo employees for their efforts during the crisis, Elbers said: “We stood tall and united, weathering the storm together, with unwavering support for one another. Thank you to our pilots, cabin crew, airport staff, OCC, customer service and all functions who supported.”

After more than a week of disruptions to its operations, IndiGo on December 9 shared the stabilisation of operations. “After that, we restored our network to 2,200 flights today. ⁠Given our scale and complexity, recovering from such a situation in a short time is a testament to our teamwork and the strength of our operating principles,” Elbers said.

Looking forward, he said the airline will now focus on three key things: resilience, root-cause analysis and rebuilding. “⁠What we witnessed seems to be a compounding effect of several factors. ⁠Speculations are circulating, but I encourage everyone: please stay calm, focus on your professional responsibilities, and avoid engaging in such speculations.”

Talking about initiatives taken to probe into the disruptions, Elbers said an external aviation expert has been appointed by its board to conduct a comprehensive root-cause analysis. “Similar disruptions occurred in other parts of the world with large airlines. While every crisis is unique, lessons from others will also help us strengthen our systems.”

⁠A combination of root-cause analysis and inputs will help the company to be “stronger and better”, he said. “Let these three days (3-5 December 2025) not define what we have collectively built over 19 years. ⁠Today, we are 65,000 proud IndiGo colleagues, and in these 19 years, over 850 million customers chose to fly with us.”

​​On December 9, Elbers announced that operations were back on track after over a week’s disruptions, which saw more than 4,000 flights being cancelled. Despite its efforts towards normalisation, the government also cut 10% of IndiGo’s scheduled flights for the Winter Season, reducing its operations by about 200 daily flights.

After that, IndiGo Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta also issued an unconditional apology, acknowledging the airline “let passengers down” as thousands were stranded across the country. “As Chairman of the Board, the company apologises without conditions or excuses,” Mehta said via a video message.

IndiGo’s crisis began on December 2, when the country’s largest airline by market share began cancelling flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports. Because of its scale of operations and its market share of more than 60 per cent, more than 4,000 flights were cancelled, causing huge inconvenience to passengers.