The civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Thursday, January 22, 2026, ordered India’s largest airline operator IndiGo to remove a senior vice president while issuing warnings to six executives, including the company’s chief operating officer (COO), according to a legal representative aware of the development.
The DGCA’s submission was made in a PIL seeking a judicial inquiry into the IndiGo flight chaos that resulted in mass cancellation of flights, compensation to passengers and additional ground support to help stranded passengers in December 2025.
Read also | IndiGo assures DGCA that no flights will be canceled from February 10 onwards
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma represented the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA and a bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia in the IndiGo case.
The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on February 25, 2026.
5 things DGCA told Delhi High Court
1. The cause of the crisis: Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma said the DGCA told the Delhi High Court that after a four-member committee probe, they found that the Indigo crisis was caused by “over-optimization of operations, lack of regulatory preparedness along with deficiencies in system software support and deficiencies in governance structure”.
The lawyer also said that the DGCA has imposed a ₹The airline was fined 22.2 million crowns for the incident that happened last December.
Read also | Government caps domestic fares at ₹18,000 amid IndiGo crisis
2. Release and Warning: The DGCA lawyer also said the regulator on Thursday, January 22, 2026 issued a warning to IndiGo’s COO, Isidre Porqueras Orea, the company’s director, among six executives.
3. ₹50 million deposit: Chetan Sharma said the DGCA has also asked IndiGo for a deposit ₹50 crore in the form of bank guarantees to be returned once the airline operator makes the necessary adjustments in its operations.
4. Impact of operations: According to a PTI report, between December 3 and 5, 2025, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said IndiGo experienced 2,507 flight cancellations and 1,852 flight delays, affecting more than 3 million passengers at airports across India.
Mint had earlier reported how IndiGo canceled hundreds of flights across India as the airline was not prepared for the central government’s revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDLT) norms.
Read also | Delhi HC seeks affidavit from IndiGo for refund, compensation after December flight chaos
5. Travel vouchers: The DGCA also said that IndiGo offers ₹10,000 as a travel voucher for passengers stranded due to the massive disruption of airline operations, which will expire in some time, according to an agency report.
The Delhi High Court asked IndiGo’s counsel to clarify what would happen to the voucher if an individual was unable to redeem it within the prescribed time frame.
The news agency report also highlighted that IndiGo’s counsel acknowledged that it had accepted the instructions. “Please file an affidavit,” said the high court bench.
What did Pieter Elbers say?
During IndiGo’s quarterly earnings call on 22 January 2026, CEO Pieter Elbers said that the company had witnessed major operational disruptions leading to significant flight cancellations and delays from 3 to 5 December 2025.
Read also | IndiGo’s Q3 profit falls 78% YoY on new labor law, mass flight cancellations
“This quarter, the company faced major operational disruptions that led to significant flight cancellations and delays from December 3 to 5. We deeply regret the inconvenience our customers are facing and express our sincere gratitude for their patience and trust,” the executive said.
Pieter Elbers also said that the company has strong fundamentals and is supported by an expanding fleet, a growing domestic and international network, which the airline expects to deliver reliability, operational excellence and a better customer experience.
IndiGo reported a 77.55% year-on-year decline in its consolidated profit at the level ₹549.8 crore for the October-December quarter of the financial year 2025-26, compared to ₹2,448.8 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year, according to the latest BSE filing.
