At a time when most Indian airlines are incurring losses, IndiGo stands as the only profitable carrier. Yet, while loss-making airlines managed to comply with the DGCA directions within the allotted 18-month period, a profit-making airline failed to do so. DGCA had provided adequate time for compliance and workforce planning. But while others focused on meeting regulatory requirements, IndiGo appeared to be adopting a different strategy – creating disruption to put pressure on the government. Incredibly, this approach worked: instead of imposing fines, the government chose to relax the norms.
Aviation expert Harsh Vardhan termed the entire crisis as a direct failure of IndiGo’s management. He said that this is a very unprecedented situation. Passengers are facing problems since last three days. This is peak tourist, wedding and business season. IndiGo’s claim that the new FDTL policy suddenly created problems is nothing but a failure of management. This policy was not introduced overnight – it was drafted after years of deliberations and was finalized a year ago.
Harsh Vardhan reminded that the soft launch of FDTL took place on July 1, 2025 and it was fully implemented from November 1, 2025. Other operators like Air India and SpiceJet made timely adjustments, which is why no major crisis occurred there. What surprises them most is the timing—if the policy was in effect from November 1, why did this sudden “flare-up” begin only a month later, in early December?
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“The Government of India has decided to conduct a high-level inquiry into this disruption. The inquiry will examine what went wrong at IndiGo, fix accountability wherever appropriate action is required and recommend measures to prevent similar disruptions in future, thereby ensuring that passengers do not face such difficulties again,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement.
No one knows what will come out of the investigation, but interestingly, due to the relaxation of rules by the government, IndiGo got rewarded for blackmailing instead of getting punished.
Due to IndiGo induced unrest, airfares on major routes shot up to Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000. IndiGo didn’t just cancel flights – it ground the system, grounded planes, demonstrated its power and effectively challenged the government to respond. Instead of asserting its authority, the NDA government retreated and withdrew its own directive. Through deliberate mismanagement, the airline drove the system into chaos. The economy was badly hit by the suspension of over a thousand IndiGo flights, causing hotel prices and ticket fares on other airlines to rise.
“The central government has ordered an investigation and refunds – but the question is: When the monopoly of private companies and the silence of the government come together, who will protect the common people? Who are you working for? The interests of the public or the big corporate houses?” Former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia raised genuine questions on the government.
The shocking thing is that the country of 1.4 billion people is mainly dependent on only two major domestic carriers – IndiGo and Air India. IndiGo’s dominance is so significant that even opposition leader Rahul Gandhi publicly criticized the government for inspection failures. Gandhi said, “IndiGo’s failure is the price of this government’s monopoly model. Once again, it is the common Indian who pays the price – in delays, cancellations and helplessness. India deserves fair competition in every sector, not a match-fixing monopoly.”
For two decades, successive governments have allowed major airlines to collapse rather than reorganizing them under new ownership. Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are prime examples: both could have been revived by removing problematic promoters, yet no institutional mechanism was activated. The pattern repeated itself with Go First. When three airlines disappear in a decade, it signals not only corporate failures but also a systemic unwillingness to protect competition and consumer interests, writes public policy expert Prashant Tiwari, cited in a recent report in The Pioneer.
Today, IndiGo controls more than half of India’s domestic aviation market, while Air India Group holds the majority stake in the remainder. Small airlines operate on margins, which are too weak to influence pricing or service standards.
Tiwari wrote that the disappearance of the three airlines within years reflected the government’s failure to protect competition and consumer interests.
This monopoly-like environment has stifled travelers: Air fares on busy domestic routes are routinely higher than those for comparable distances in Europe, Southeast Asia or even the United States. A two-hour flight within India can cost more than a four-hour international trip elsewhere.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal said, “The failure of Indigo airline shows that the Modi government is either incompetent or in collusion. In any case, India deserves better. People have never suffered so much.”
Over the years, India’s aviation sector has needed at least eight to ten strong operators to promote true competition, stabilize fares and minimize disruptions. Instead, new entrants face enormous barriers, the licensing process moves very slowly, and foreign carriers seeking expansion are hindered by outdated protectionist policies disguised as national security concerns. The refusal to liberalize the skies has turned India into one of the most expensive domestic aviation markets in the world.
According to Tiwari, the duopoly ecosystem suits certain interests. He said that with opaque decision-making processes, India’s aviation sector operates with minimal accountability.
Although the government’s UDAN scheme was launched to make air travel accessible to the common citizen, rising fares have made flying more expensive.
Apart from opening new airports, the government should immediately liberalize the sector, encourage new domestic players, revive defunct airlines under competent management and allow credible foreign carriers to compete under regulated conditions. Until then, Indian travelers will continue to pay excessively, learning the same harsh lessons again and again.
