DGCA: IndiGo claims cancellation refunds cleared, extends 'Gesture of Care' travel vouchers

IndiGo has fully processed and cleared all refunds for cancellations of its flights between December 3-5 and extended support for the affected passengers under a "Gesture of Care" initiatve, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Friday.

The aviation watchdog has been constantly engaging with IndiGo with respect to refunds and compensations for the flight cancellations from December 3-5, which surfaced due to "operational disruptions," it said.

In addition, passengers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of the scheduled departure are applicaple to claim for compensation.


Further, to extend support for the affected passengers during the period, the airline has initiated a "Gesture of Care" plan. This includes two travel vouchers of Rs. 5,000 - valid for 12 months - and will be provided to people whose flights were cancelled or delayed for more than three hours during the specified period, the DGCA added.

The flight cancellations - started due to large-scale schedule instability linked to internal operational challenges -led to a nationwide unrest in December and are likely to weigh on the airline's Q3 results, due soon.

Its stock saw a sell-off last year after the multiple flight disruptions in December, with its shares ending the year 20% lower and wiping out about $5 billion in market value.

The aviation regulator DGCA has imposed a few cosmetic flight cuts on IndiGo since, asked some internal flight inspectors overseeing the airline to leave, stationed its staff at the airline’s headquarters and issued show-cause notices.

It also asked other airlines such as Air India, Akasa and SpiceJet to deploy more planes and flights to make up for the minor cuts imposed on IndiGo.