'We sincerely apologise'. IndiGo CEO issues public apology for massive disruption, says flight operations back on track
PTC Web Desk: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology on Tuesday as the airline continued recovering from a major operational breakdown that led to nearly 500 flight cancellations in a single day. In a video message to passengers, Elbers acknowledged the chaos and inconvenience faced by travellers, admitting that the airline had fallen short of expectations.
“We sincerely apologise. Thousands of passengers were unable to travel, and we understand the frustration this has caused,” he said. Elbers added that the airline’s teams had been working “on a war footing” to restore normal operations and assist affected passengers.
According to the CEO, IndiGo’s network is now stabilising after days of disruptions. He said the priority was initially to ensure stranded passengers reached their destinations safely, followed by issuing refunds and delivering misplaced baggage. Elbers claimed that a large number of passengers have already received full refunds and the remaining processes are ongoing.
Sharing the recovery timeline, Elbers noted that the airline operated only 700 flights on December 5 but gradually ramped up to 1,500 flights on December 6, 1,650 on December 7, and 1,800 flights on December 8. He confirmed that IndiGo is once again flying to all 138 destinations on its network.
Elbers also said the airline is cooperating fully with government authorities while simultaneously conducting an internal review to identify reasons behind the disruption. “With the immediate crisis under control, we are now looking closely at what went wrong, what we can learn, and how we can emerge stronger,” he added.
- With inputs from agencies
