IndiGo Meltdown: Insider Blames Fatigue, Fear and Failure
IndiGo chaos as seen at New Delhi Airport (Image TRH)
A searing open letter—purportedly from an IndiGo insider—alleges years of exploitation, unsafe rosters, weakened oversight and mismanagement, claiming the current aviation crisis was “years in the making.”
By KUMAR VIKRAM
New Delhi, December 7, 2025 — A blistering open letter—claimed to be written by a long-serving IndiGo employee—has ignited a fresh storm around India’s largest airline, alleging years of overwork, intimidation, and mismanagement that culminated in the ongoing nationwide aviation crisis.
The detailed account, circulating widely on social media, shared by Captain Shakti Lumba on X, describes a workplace “held together by fear, exhaustion and silence.”
The writer, identifying as both an IndiGo employee and “an Indian,” argues that the airline’s collapse “did not happen overnight” but was the result of years of ignored warnings, unsafe rosters, and a culture where titles mattered more than talent. “We started off proud in 2006,” the letter notes. “But pride turned to arrogance, growth turned to greed.”
A major charge is that IndiGo’s rapid expansion came at the cost of its workers. Pilots and engineers reportedly raised concerns about fatigue and unsafe duty hours, only to be “shouted at, humiliated or dismissed.” Ground staff, allegedly earning as low as ₹16,000–18,000 a month, were “running from aircraft to aircraft doing the work of three people.”
Cabin crew, the letter claims, routinely “smiled through exhaustion while crying in the galley.” Engineers were described as sprinting across bays to help quick turnarounds, while being told they should feel “lucky to have a job.”
The writer also accuses top leadership—naming several senior executives—of being disconnected from ground realities. “IndiGo grew,” the letter states, “but the people who fly the planes, repair the planes, and handle the planes were left behind.”
Regulatory lapses form another key allegation. The writer claims pilots seeking licence validations faced unexplained delays, with whispers of “unofficial prices” for faster processing. Fatigue rules, they argue, were modified in ways that made schedules “even more brutal.”
The letter ends with an emotional appeal to the government: set minimum wages for ground staff, enforce minimum manpower per aircraft, restore employee representation in fatigue-rule decisions, and penalise operational negligence.
“IndiGo will not collapse from paying its employees fairly,” the letter concludes. “But it will collapse if it continues treating them like they don’t matter.”
The airline has not yet issued a response to the contents of the letter.
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