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India Imposes Airfare Caps, Mandates Refunds As IndiGo Disruptions Drag On

Regulators granted IndiGo limited relief on night-duty rules pending a high‑level probe into the airline’s rostering failures.

Overview

  • IndiGo reported more than 1,000 cancellations on Friday and about 850 on Saturday, with widespread disruption continuing at major airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
  • The Civil Aviation Ministry set temporary economy fare ceilings by distance bands—₹7,500 (≤500 km), ₹15,000 (~1,000–1,500 km) and ₹18,000 (>1,500 km)—excluding taxes and charges, and said it is monitoring airlines and online platforms.
  • Airlines were ordered to complete refunds for all canceled or disrupted flights by Sunday 8 pm, waive rescheduling fees, and return separated baggage within 48 hours, with IndiGo told to run dedicated assistance and refund cells.
  • DGCA issued a targeted relaxation of certain night‑duty Flight Duty Time Limitation provisions for IndiGo to ease immediate crew constraints and appealed for pilot union cooperation.
  • Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said strict, precedent‑setting action will follow a high‑level inquiry, while IndiGo projected full schedule normalization between December 10 and 15.