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IndiGo chaos explained!
Lokmat
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31 minutes ago
Category
ЁЯЧЮ
News
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Dear viewers, let me start with a week that should go down in India's aviation history.
00:05
Not as a milestone, but as a warning.
00:07
It's early December 2025, you walk into an Indian airport.
00:11
Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, take your pick.
00:13
And it doesn't look like a travel hub anymore.
00:16
It looks like a waiting room for bad news.
00:18
Families sleeping on the floor with their bags as pillows.
00:22
Small children curled up on trolley bags, crying from exhaustion.
00:25
An elderly couple sitting on plastic chairs, medicines in hand,
00:29
staring at a dead departure screen.
00:31
A young professional arguing at the counter
00:33
because her rescheduled flight was quietly cancelled again.
00:37
Passengers filming everything on their phones
00:40
because that's the only proof they will ever get.
00:43
Announcements keep coming, but not for boarding.
00:46
Only for delays, cancellations, inconvenience is regretted.
00:51
And in the middle of this mess,
00:52
there is a common logo on almost every boarding pass,
00:55
every check-in counter, every angry tweet.
00:58
Indigo, India's largest airline.
01:00
The airline that sold itself as efficient, reliable, always on time.
01:05
The airline that controls more than half the domestic market.
01:08
For one week in December, that airline simply crashed on the ground.
01:12
Over 750 flights cancelled in a matter of days.
01:15
Hundreds more delayed beyond reason.
01:18
On-time performance dropping to around 19%.
01:21
A joke for an airline that built its brand on punctuality.
01:24
This wasn't a glitch.
01:25
This wasn't some random bad luck week.
01:27
This was a full-blown operational breakdown
01:29
that stranded thousands of people
01:32
at weddings, funerals, job interviews, exams, medical appointments
01:35
with nothing but template emails and robotic apologies.
01:39
And here is what really stings.
01:41
This wasn't inevitable.
01:43
This wasn't unavoidable.
01:44
This was man-made.
01:45
Hello, I'm Tejas and you're watching Honest Take on Lokman Times.
01:49
In this video, we are breaking down what went wrong with Indigo.
01:52
Who is responsible for this mess?
01:55
And why, despite such massive failure,
01:57
no solid action will be taken against them.
02:00
But before we start, you know the drill.
02:02
Please do subscribe to Lokman Times if you haven't already
02:04
and press the bell icon to never miss an update.
02:07
Between December 2nd and 9th, India's biggest airline,
02:11
the one that carries roughly 6 out of every 10 domestic flyers,
02:15
went into a tailspin.
02:17
Over 750 flights cancelled, 100 more delayed.
02:20
Crowded terminals turned into overnight shelters.
02:23
Customer care numbers ringing into the void.
02:25
Indigo's on-time performance,
02:27
which usually hovered about 80%
02:29
and was sold as its biggest strength,
02:32
fell to about 19%.
02:34
19.
02:34
At that point, even Indian railways with fog,
02:37
old tracks and overloaded networks
02:39
looked like more dependable option.
02:41
But let's be clear,
02:43
this wasn't about fog alone.
02:44
It wasn't about winter issues.
02:46
This was the direct result of choices made in boardrooms.
02:49
So what really happened?
02:51
On November 1st, 2025,
02:53
phase 2 of the new flight duty time limitations,
02:56
FDTL, kicked in.
02:57
Basic logic behind the rule,
02:59
pilots are human, humans get tired,
03:01
tired pilots make mistakes.
03:03
So the regulator said,
03:04
give them more rest,
03:06
limit their night landings,
03:07
cap the number of hours they can fly in a week,
03:10
build roasters that don't push them to the edge.
03:12
This wasn't sprung overnight.
03:14
Airlines, including Indigo,
03:16
had known for around 2 years
03:17
that these rules were coming.
03:19
And every single one of them understood one simple equation.
03:23
More mandatory rest plus stricter limits
03:26
is equal to fewer flying hours per pilot.
03:29
Which means,
03:29
if you want to fly the same number of planes,
03:32
you need more pilots.
03:33
So what did Indigo do?
03:34
They kept adding planes.
03:36
They did not add enough pilots.
03:38
In fact, reports point to hiring being slowed or frozen
03:41
at various stages to save costs,
03:44
while capacity and routes continued to grow.
03:46
Picture this,
03:47
you're opening more restaurants,
03:49
but cutting down on staff,
03:50
because labor is expensive.
03:52
It works,
03:53
until one weekend when there is a rush.
03:55
Two people fall in sick,
03:56
one machine breaks down,
03:58
and suddenly,
03:59
you're not a restaurant anymore.
04:00
You're a riot waiting to happen.
04:02
Something like that happened in the skies.
04:05
Under the new FDTL rules,
04:07
once pilots hit their duty time limits,
04:09
they must stop flying.
04:11
These are safety norms,
04:12
not suggestions.
04:13
There is no adjust-just-this-once option.
04:16
So pilots timed out.
04:17
Replacement crew,
04:18
not available.
04:19
Planes stood still.
04:21
Cancellations piled up.
04:22
Delay turned into collapse.
04:24
Dominoes.
04:24
And that's the heart of it.
04:26
Indigo built an operation with no real buffer.
04:29
No margin for error.
04:30
No serious contingency plan
04:32
for rules they had known about for two years.
04:35
So who is responsible for this mess?
04:37
Let's name the names.
04:38
First up,
04:39
Peter Elbers,
04:40
CEO of Indigo.
04:41
Then Isidro Porcura,
04:43
COO of Indigo.
04:44
The DGCA sent show calls notices directly to them,
04:47
calling out planning gaps and misjudgment.
04:49
Strip away the polite language,
04:51
and it means this.
04:52
You knew.
04:53
You did not plan.
04:54
You miscalculated.
04:55
Passenger paid.
04:57
Roster planning did not match the new law.
04:59
Capacity decisions ignored human limits.
05:02
The airline chased expansion and efficiency,
05:05
but forgot resilience.
05:06
Then there is the board and its risk committees.
05:08
Proxy advisory firms have already started asking tough questions.
05:13
Did the board fully factor in FDTL risks?
05:16
Did they sign off expansion plans
05:18
without ensuring there were no enough pilots to run them safely?
05:22
Were compliance and fatigue treated as boring line items
05:25
instead of existential threats?
05:27
Because this is what the pattern looks like.
05:29
A company wants to look sharp to investors.
05:32
They squeeze costs.
05:33
They bet on everything going right.
05:35
And then the bet fails.
05:37
They pass the shock downstream to the only group
05:39
that can't walk away.
05:41
The passengers.
05:42
Now comes the regulator, DGCA.
05:44
Once the meltdown became impossible to ignore,
05:47
viral videos, angry headlines,
05:49
chaos at airports,
05:50
the DGCA acted.
05:52
Yes, they sent notices.
05:53
Yes, they demanded explanations.
05:55
And then they did something
05:57
that tells you exactly how the game is played in India's skies.
06:01
They gave Indigo a temporary exemption
06:03
from the very fatigue rules it failed to plan for.
06:07
Till February 2026,
06:09
Indigo can fall back on the older, loser FDTL norms.
06:12
In simple words,
06:13
the airline that did not prepare for stricter safety rules
06:16
was allowed to continue under less strict rules
06:19
so that operations could be stabilized.
06:22
To many pilots and passengers,
06:23
this feels less like discipline
06:25
and more like a bailout.
06:27
Make a mess big enough
06:28
and instead of being grounded,
06:30
the rules are bent for you.
06:31
What message does that send?
06:33
If you are small and you slip up,
06:34
you are punished.
06:35
If you are big and you melt down,
06:37
the system adjusts around you.
06:39
Now, let's talk about the elephant in the terminal.
06:42
Why could Indigo afford to mess up this spectacularly
06:46
and still be confident people will come back?
06:48
Because in most of India,
06:50
you don't choose an airline.
06:51
You choose a flight time.
06:53
And that flight time is almost always Indigo.
06:56
The numbers are brutal.
06:57
Indigo holds roughly 60 to 62% of the market share.
07:01
Most of the rest sits with Tata Group Airlines.
07:04
This is a duopoly.
07:05
Compare it with the US or China,
07:06
where no single airline goes beyond 20 to 25%.
07:10
If one airline there melts down,
07:12
passengers simply move with their wallets.
07:14
The market punishes mismanagement.
07:16
In India,
07:17
try flying to a smaller city without touching Indigo.
07:20
You will quickly realize choice is an illusion.
07:23
And when companies know you have nowhere else to go,
07:25
something ugly happens.
07:27
They stop investing in backup.
07:29
They stop fearing reputation damage.
07:31
They cut what looks unnecessary on spreadsheets,
07:34
like extra pilots,
07:35
spare crew,
07:36
breathing room in roasters,
07:37
because they know you might abuse them today.
07:40
You might trend a hashtag tonight.
07:42
But the next time you urgently need a direct flight
07:45
to that smaller city with a workable timetable,
07:47
you will be back.
07:48
That's not a market.
07:49
That's dependency.
07:51
This isn't only about Indigo.
07:53
It's about how India handles any private giant
07:56
that becomes too big to fail.
07:58
When one airline dominates domestic skies,
08:01
it isn't just a company.
08:02
It becomes part of national infrastructure,
08:04
like railways or highways.
08:06
But here is the difference.
08:07
Railways, for all their problems,
08:09
still face public scrutiny,
08:11
political pressure,
08:12
parliamentary questions.
08:14
Airlines, on the other hand,
08:15
operate in a cozy triangle.
08:17
Corporate boardrooms,
08:18
regulators with limited teeth
08:20
and a public that is atomized and exhausted.
08:23
The Indigo meltdown exposed three big cracks.
08:26
First, passenger rights in India
08:28
are weak and poorly enforced.
08:30
Refunds are delayed.
08:31
Compensation is minimal or non-existent.
08:33
Penalties for cancellations and poor handlings
08:36
are laughable compared to what passengers go through.
08:39
Second, regulation is mostly reactive.
08:42
The DGCA wakes up when the crisis explodes on social media,
08:46
not when risk indicators start flashing in advance.
08:49
Third, market concentration is dangerous.
08:51
When one or two groups own the sky,
08:53
the cost of punishing them becomes too high.
08:56
So the system quietly shifts to protect them instead.
08:59
That's why a disaster like this
09:00
doesn't automatically lead to shakedowns at the top.
09:04
Instead, we get committee meetings,
09:05
temporary exemptions
09:07
and nice-sounding statements
09:09
about ensuring minimal inconvenience in future.
09:12
Now, let's come to the most important part.
09:15
What needs to change?
09:16
If India is serious about not repeating this embarrassment,
09:20
three things need to happen.
09:21
Not on paper, but in practice.
09:23
First, make passenger rights non-negotiable.
09:26
If an airline cancels or massively delays a flight
09:29
due to its own planning failures,
09:31
compensation should hurt.
09:33
Hard, not a token voucher.
09:35
Actual, binding, enforceable penalties.
09:37
Second, force real contingency planning.
09:40
If you want to operate at a certain scale,
09:42
you must prove you have the crew,
09:44
the buffers and the systems to handle new regulations,
09:47
bad weather and disruptions
09:48
before you are allowed to sell that capacity.
09:51
Third, break the comfort of your plea.
09:53
This doesn't mean blindly adding new airlines
09:56
that collapse in three years.
09:57
It means creating conditions
09:59
where no single airline can hold the country
10:01
emotionally and logistically hostage.
10:04
Because let's be blunt,
10:05
if the cost of punishing you is national chaos,
10:08
you are not a company anymore.
10:09
You are a risk.
10:10
So here is my honest take.
10:12
Indigo's December 2025 meltdown
10:14
was not just an operational failure.
10:16
It was a reflection.
10:17
It was a realization.
10:19
It showed us an airline
10:20
that grew faster than its ethics.
10:21
A regulator that bent after the crisis
10:24
instead of standing firm before it.
10:26
A market that rewards dominance
10:28
more than reliability.
10:29
And a country where passengers
10:30
still don't count as stakeholders,
10:32
only as revenue streams.
10:34
The planes will fly again.
10:35
The rumbers will recover.
10:37
The PR campaigns will resume.
10:38
But the question is simple.
10:40
Will anything actually change
10:42
in the way these airlines plan,
10:44
hire and respect the people
10:45
who keep them alive?
10:46
Or will this just become
10:48
another chapter in India's
10:50
long book of Jugaad fixes?
10:52
Where, once again,
10:53
the system chooses convenience
10:55
for companies over dignity
10:56
for citizens.
10:57
Because the real turbulence
10:59
isn't just in the air.
11:00
It's in the way power,
11:02
profit and public interest collide.
11:04
And right now,
11:05
the passenger is losing.
11:06
This was your honest take with me, Tejas.
11:08
Until next time,
11:09
stay sharp, stay curious
11:10
and never stop asking tough questions.
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рдорд░рд╛рдареА-рдЕрдорд░рд╛рдареА рд╡рд╛рдж рд╕реЛрдбрд╛, рдорд╣рд╛рдкреМрд░ рдЖрд░рдХреНрд╖рдг рдХреЛрдгрддрдВ?
Lokmat
5 hours ago
2:30
рдкреБрдгреНрдпрд╛рддреАрд▓ рд░рдореЗрд╢ рдбрд╛рдИрдВрдЧ рджреБрдХрд╛рдирд╛рд▓рд╛ рднреАрд╖рдг рдЖрдЧ, рдореЛрдард╛ рдЕрдирд░реНрде рдЯрд│рд▓рд╛
Lokmat
5 hours ago
5:50
рд╡рдВрджреЗ рдорд╛рддрд░рдореН рд╕рджреЗрдд рд░рд╛рд╖реНрдЯреНрд░реАрдп рдЧреАрддрд╛рдЪрд╛ рд╡рд╛рдж рдХрд╛ рдкреЗрдЯрд▓рд╛ рдкрдВрддрдкреНрд░рдзрд╛рдирд╛рдВрдирд╛ рдХрд╛рдБрдЧреНрд░реЗрд╕рдиреЗ рдкреБрд░рд╛рд╡реНрдпрд╛рд╕рд╣реАрдд рд╕реБрдирд╛рд╡рд▓рдВ
Lokmat
6 hours ago
2:20
рдЖрддрд╛ рдорд╛рд╕рд┐рдХ рдкрд╛рд│реАрд▓рд╛ рд╕реБрдЯреНрдЯреА рдШреЗрддрд╛ рдпреЗрдгрд╛рд░, рдХрд░реНрдирд╛рдЯрдХ рд╕рд░рдХрд╛рд░рдЪрд╛ рдорд╣рд┐рд▓рд╛рдВрд╕рд╛рдареА рдореЛрдард╛ рдирд┐рд░реНрдгрдп
Lokmat
6 hours ago
1:15
рдмрд┐рдмрдЯреНрдпрд╛рдЪреНрдпрд╛ рдкреНрд░рд╢реНрдирд╛рд╡рд░ рдЪрд░реНрдЪрд╛.. рд╡рд┐рдзрд╛рдирд╕рднреЗрдд рдХреГрд╖реНрдгрд╛ рдЦреЛрдкрдбреЗрдВрдиреА рдХрд╛рдп рд╕рд╛рдВрдЧрд┐рддрд▓рдВ?
Lokmat
6 hours ago
4:49
рддреНрдпрд╛рдВрдЪреНрдпрд╛- рдкрдХреНрд╖рдкреНрд░рд╡реЗрд╢рд╛рд▓рд╛ рд╕реНрдердЧрд┐рддреА
Lokmat
6 hours ago
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