‘IndiGo in Meltdown’: Velvet-Glove Regulation Finally Crumbles

Indigo saga reveals a moth-eaten civil regulation ecosystem in India where the elites pamper operators to protect their luxury at people’s expenses. 

By MANISH ANAND

New Delhi, December 6, 2025 — In a span of a few days, India’s civil aviation hurtled into an abyss of chaos. Indigo, India’s monopolistic airlines, treated passengers with abundant fury when faced with new crew rest norms. That a private airlines almost blackmailed India’s civil aviation regulations should leave none in doubt that the civil rights hold no values to corporate bullying.

Indigo saga as revealed by stakeholders is pinned down by the revelations that the private airlines was given not less than two years to adapt to the international norms for crew rest schedules. Lacking intent to accept the regulation, Indigo used passengers as cannon fodders to fire salvos at the regulator.

Thousands of air passengers sweated out at airports. They yelled. They felt helpless. Newly-weds attended their receptions in virtual modes. Patients missed their scheduled appointments at hospitals. Professionals missed appointments.

Air fares soared to even ₹90,000 for Kolkata-Mumbai flight, and other routes with similar charges. Simply, this should be described as a brazen loot of the people right under the nose of the government and the moth-eaten regulator of India’s civil aviation.

More than six months have gone by since the horrendous Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. The people, including the relatives of victims, have not yet been told why the ill-fated Dreamliner plane crashed. Amid vanishing transparency and accountability, the people are left with no options but to speculate.

Members of parliament on several occasions have raised the issue of brazen loot of passengers by airlines. Why should airfare from Dubai to Kochi cost ₹1.5 lakh per passenger if he has to travel urgently to attend to cremation at home, asked one Kerala MP in the Lok Sabha.

At the time-of-flight search, a Chennai-New Delhi flight flashes cost of ₹40000 but while booking it locks ₹85000, asked a DMK MP in the Lok Sabha last year. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla gently nudged the Civil Aviation Minister to examine the issue, for “the cost of travels of MPs is borne by parliament.”

Birla stopped short from saying that the cost, excessive will be too mild to say, is borne by the people of India. MPs travel by air too often. By Friday afternoons, they rush to Delhi airport. On Monday mornings, they rush to catch flights for New Delhi. They always book tickets at short notices. There are no limits on expenses for them for air travels.

The velvet glove treatment of airline operators by the government and the regulator borders anarchy. That is indeed the cost of an oligopoly.

(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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