IndiGo Refunds ₹610 Crore After Major Disruptions

After nearly a week of disruptions in India’s aviation sector, IndiGo has begun stabilising its operations. The airline has processed refunds worth ₹610 crore and returned around 3,000 misplaced bags to passengers, as corrective measures directed by the government start showing results.

IndiGo Processes ₹610 Crore Refunds

After five days of chaos in India’s aviation sector, the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s stern intervention has pushed IndiGo to take strong corrective steps. Although over 500 flights were cancelled on Sunday, several managed to operate as well.

The sharp rise in domestic airfares has also begun to stabilise. As of Sunday evening, IndiGo has processed refunds worth ₹610 crore for passengers affected by cancelled or severely delayed flights. By Saturday, the airline had delivered nearly 3,000 pieces of misplaced baggage to passengers across the country.

Government Provides Update

The government shared this update on Sunday. However, completing the refund process and ensuring all bags reach the correct passengers may take another two days. A complete return to normalcy may require three to four more days. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), the aviation network is rapidly heading toward full restoration. The corrective measures announced earlier will remain in place until operations return completely to normal.

On Saturday, the government directed the airline to finish processing all refunds for cancelled flights by Sunday evening and to deliver all separated baggage within two days. According to ministry data, IndiGo operated only 706 flights on December 5 and 1,565 flights on December 6.

On Sunday (December 7), the airline was expected to operate around 1,650 flights. Despite the improvement, this is still far below IndiGo’s normal daily schedule of around 2,300 flights. The ministry stated that flight numbers should return to normal levels in the coming days.

Fare Cap Shows Impact

The government’s cap on maximum airfares is also showing results. The Delhi–Mumbai airfare, which a day earlier was showing a minimum of ₹11,000, has now dropped to around ₹6,000 for Monday, according to travel websites. Likewise, the Delhi–Hyderabad fare, which was ₹20,000–₹21,000 for travel within 24 hours on Saturday, fell to ₹12,000 on Sunday for the same booking window.

The ministry stated that airfares on affected routes have returned to acceptable levels, and all airlines are strictly adhering to the new fare structure. IndiGo has so far processed ₹610 crore in refunds. No additional fees are being charged for rescheduling, and special assistance cells have been set up for passengers.

Efforts to Return Baggage to Passengers

IndiGo was instructed to return all separated baggage within 48 hours. By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 bags, but aviation officials believe that delivering the remaining thousands within the deadline may be difficult due to the large volume.

Extra staff has been deployed to check tags and manually sort each bag to ensure it reaches the correct destination. The ministry has instructed IndiGo to closely monitor the baggage tracing and delivery process and to maintain constant communication with passengers.

Normalcy Returning at Major Airports

Most major airports—Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Goa—saw normal operations on Sunday. The government confirmed that check-in, security, and boarding areas were running smoothly without crowding. Additional teams from airport operators and CISF have been deployed to ensure seamless operations.