IndiGo airlines has processed refunds amounting to Rs 610 crore following a severe operational crisis across the country¹. Even amidst this crisis, Many IndiGo passengers are receiving only partial refunds, and most are still waiting to get them.²

Policy Concerns

Is refund enough? The biggest question that now looms over the ongoing Indigo crisis is the liability of Indigo itself. Yes, the airline has issued an apology, is processing refunds, and is offering no-charge cancellations. But given the market share Indigo holds-and the scale of the chaos it has triggered, a crisis cum chaos that can only be described as national-one is bound to ask: is a mere refund even remotely enough?

When aviation giants like this fail, who pays for what millions of stranded passengers across the country are put through? Be it vacation time wasted at airports, exams missed, salaries deducted for absence from work, or anything else—why should Indigo not be held liable? A simple ticket refund cannot possibly cover the damage when the loss is far greater than a missed flight.

The mental exertion and agony faced by lakhs of passengers is beyond description. This crisis has exposed glaring policy gaps. First and foremost is the absence of a compensation framework for disruptions of this magnitude—because refund is the bare minimum. Secondly, this crisis will set the precedent for what airline liability should look like and what legal rights passengers must have. We urgently need a clear legal framework that mandates compensation beyond refunds when the chaos is nationwide and avoidable.

This episode has also revealed the complete lack of airline liability for subsidiary costs—hotels, meals, transport-when a flight is cancelled by the airline. Add to this the unacceptable delays in notifying passengers, the collapse of multi-leg travel plans, and the ripple effects felt across the aviation ecosystem. All of this points to one unavoidable truth: Indigo must face larger, stricter liability for triggering a crisis of this scale.