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New Delhi: As the government began to take regulatory action after the massive IndiGo fiasco that left thousands of passengers in the lurch, the airline, on Saturday, released a statement offering a full refund on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the Union ministry of civil aviation directed the airlines to complete the refund process by 8 pm on Sunday.

IndiGo stated that over 95 percent of network connectivity has been re-established as it is able to operate to 135 out of the existing 138 destinations in operations.

“The main objective was to reboot the network, systems, and rosters so that we could start afresh today with higher number of flights, improved stability, and there are some early signs of improvement,” the low-cost airline said in an updated statement.

“We apologise once again,” said an IndiGo spokesperson.

1,600 cancellations on day 4

Saturday marked day four of the fiasco, with around 1,600 flights cancelled so far, even as IndiGo managed to operate about 1,500 flights on the day.

The domestic carrier operates a total of 2300 daily flights per day.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers finally acknowledged the catastrophe after maintaining a stoic silence on the crisis for three days.

IndiGo’s on-time performance hit rock bottom at 3.7 percent, triggered by disruption in operations amid the transition to the second phase of new flight duty and rest period norms for pilots, as per the Civil Aviation Ministry website.

The second phase of these norms, which came into force from November 1 and consists of a change in night definition to 12 am- 6 pm from 12 am-5 pm earlier, and restricting the number of night landings to two from six earlier, applies to all domestic carriers.

Pilot assn calls DGCA’s ‘selective and unsafe’ relief to IndiGo

Meanwhile, the pilots’ body, Airlines’ Pilots Association (ALPA) India, has taken a “strong” objection to the DGCA’s “selective and unsafe” relief to IndiGo, saying that the relaxations have not just “destroyed regulatory parity but also placed millions of passengers at “heightened risk”.

Following the meeting convened by the Ministry of Civil Aviation with ALPA India and other pilot associations on December 5, the Ministry announced that it has decided to place the implementation of the revised FDTL CAR in abeyance.

“ALPA India expresses its deep concern that this step directly contradicts the Court’s directions, which mandate the enforcement of fatigue-mitigation standards rooted in aviation science,” the Association said in a statement late Friday.

It stated that keeping the FDTL in abeyance not only undermines judicial authority but also heightens the risk to pilots and passengers by delaying essential fatigue protection.

“We urge the (Civil Aviation) Ministry and the regulator to uphold the Court’s order in both letter and spirit and to prioritise the safety of the pilots and travelling public above all commercial considerations,” ALPA India said.

(With inputs from agencies)