IndiGo: DGCA probe into disruptions nears end, GST refund plea in Delhi HC

Indian aviation regulators are preparing to take “elaborate and corrective actions” once a high-level probe into the recent wave of flight disruptions at IndiGo is finalised, even as the airline faces sharp questioning from a parliamentary panel and pursues a major tax refund before the Delhi High Court.

A senior government official said on Friday that the four-member committee set up by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to submit its findings shortly.

The regulator has already trimmed IndiGo’s winter schedule by 10 per cent following widespread cancellations earlier this month. The airline, which typically operates about 2,300 flights a day, has since restored services to around 2,200 daily flights.

“We will continuously work on it,” the official said, adding that authorities are keen to ensure such disruptions are not repeated, particularly during the busy travel season that also coincides with winter fog conditions. The official confirmed that schedule adherence across other airlines is also under close monitoring.

The regulatory action comes amid heightened political scrutiny. A parliamentary standing committee reviewing the disruptions reportedly described the responses of senior DGCA officials and IndiGo’s management as “evasive and unconvincing”.

The committee, chaired by JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha, met on 17 December to examine what it termed an operational meltdown since early December, during which more than 5,000 flights were cancelled, affecting an estimated 12.5 lakh passengers.

According to sources cited by The Economic Times, committee members questioned whether the civil aviation ministry had been ill-prepared for the impact of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms or whether the situation reflected pressure tactics by IndiGo to secure exemptions.

Lawmakers also took serious note of passenger hardship, with some MPs saying they were personally affected by cancellations and delays, alongside complaints of sharply higher airfares during the disruption.

IndiGo was represented at the meeting by a team led by COO Isidro Porqueras, while the ministry and DGCA were headed by civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha. Executives from Air India, Air India Express, Akasa and SpiceJet were also present. The panel chose not to take a final view, opting instead to await the findings of the ministry’s ongoing inquiry, with the report due by 28 December.

Earlier, the DGCA had issued notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Porqueras, seeking explanations for the cancellations, which were widely attributed to crew shortages and inadequate planning during the rollout of the new pilot duty and rest regulations from 1 November.

In a message to employees on 18 December, Elbers said the airline had stabilised operations and was now focused on resilience, root-cause analysis and rebuilding, adding that the board had appointed an external aviation expert to conduct a comprehensive review.

Separately, IndiGo has received a procedural boost on the legal front. LiveLaw reported that the Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on a plea by InterGlobe Aviation, the airline’s parent, seeking a refund of over Rs 900 crore in Integrated GST paid under June 2021 customs notifications that imposed IGST on the re-import of repaired aircraft parts.

The court noted that while the issue is pending before the Supreme Court, there is no stay on an earlier High Court ruling that quashed the notifications.

That March 2025 judgment held that re-imported repaired aircraft parts constitute an import of services rather than goods, and that IGST on such services can be levied only under the IGST Act, not through a customs notification. Until the Supreme Court decides otherwise, the ruling continues to operate, keeping IndiGo’s refund claim alive.

Together, the developments underscore a turbulent period for India’s largest airline, as it navigates regulatory scrutiny, political pressure and high-stakes litigation while seeking to restore operational stability and passenger confidence.

With agency inputs