The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday invited public comments on a commitment proposal submitted by InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which operates IndiGo, in an abuse-of-dominance investigation arising from widespread flight disruptions experienced in December 2025. According to Zee News, the CCI has set August 13, 2026 as the deadline for receiving comments, objections and suggestions on IndiGo's commitment proposal. The airline has proposed a comprehensive crisis management framework, fare safeguards and faster refunds to address concerns raised in the CCI's investigation. If the commitments are accepted after the consultation process, the ongoing anti-trust investigation can be closed without a final finding of wrongdoing. The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 provides a settlement and commitment mechanism which allows companies facing CCI's antitrust investigations to voluntarily offer corrective measures to resolve cases without prolonged litigation.
IndiGo's commitment proposal includes constituting a Crisis Management Group (CMG) comprising senior executives to oversee responses during large-scale operational disruptions. As reported by Zee News, the airline has defined a large-scale disruption as cancellation of more than 30% of its planned capacity for a day, excluding cancellations caused by circumstances beyond its control such as adverse weather, technical failures, regulatory restrictions, crew strikes, airport closures and other force majeure events. The most significant commitment is IndiGo's proposal to temporarily surrender its domestic landing and departure slots to airport authorities during large-scale disruptions for a limited period. The airline has now proposed setting up a crisis management group virtually within 15 minutes of a large-scale disruption and physically activating it at the command centre within one hour. During such disruptions, IndiGo would undertake measures for planning and executing network adjustments to regularise operations.
For affected passengers, IndiGo has proposed alternative flights within 48 to 72 hours without additional charges or fare differences. According to Zee News, passengers who do not accept the alternative arrangement or cannot be accommodated would receive automatic refunds within a defined period and compensation under applicable DGCA requirements. The airline has also offered not to charge fares above the tariff ranges most recently filed with the DGCA for fresh bookings during a large-scale disruption until capacity is restored. A dedicated 24x7 Customer Experience (CX) War Room would operate round the clock during such disruptions, with complaints proposed to be resolved, on average, within 48 to 72 hours. The airline has also strengthened passenger handling measures by onboarding additional vendors at airports to ensure availability of meal boxes, drinking water and surface transport during disruptions.
IndiGo cancelled more than 4,200 flights between December 1 and 9 last year, as reported by Zee News. Between December 3 and 5, the airline cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed another 1,852, affecting more than three lakh passengers nationwide. The crisis was triggered by the airline's inability to manage its pilot duty roster after the DGCA fully implemented new, stricter rest and duty regulations last month, which increased weekly rest requirements and reduced the hours pilots can fly at night. The airline had failed to manage its pilot duty roster when the DGCA's second phase of the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms were implemented, which had stranded planes across airports in the country with travel schedules of flyers going haywire. The CCI noted that by cancelling thousands of flights constituting a significant portion of the scheduled capacity, IndiGo effectively withheld its service from the market, creating an artificial scarcity and limiting consumer access to air travel during peak demand.
The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 introduced Sections 48A and 48B of the Act to create a settlement and commitment mechanism, allowing companies facing antitrust investigations to voluntarily offer corrective measures to resolve cases without prolonged litigation. According to Zee News, the CCI ordered a detailed investigation in February after concluding that IndiGo's cancellation of thousands of flights during the operational crisis in December 2025 could amount to abuse of its dominant market position. The regulator noted that by cancelling a significant portion of its scheduled flights, IndiGo effectively withheld services from the market, creating "artificial scarcity" and limiting consumer access to air travel during a period of high demand. The CCI has temporarily paused its investigation until the public consultation and assessment process is completed. In its commitment proposal, IndiGo has claimed that the December disruptions were an isolated event caused by a combination of unforeseen circumstances and that its conduct did not produce anti-competitive effects, offering commitments to address the Commission's preliminary concerns and reduce passenger inconvenience.
