India's largest airline, IndiGo, which holds more than 60% of the domestic market share, has faced a major operational breakdown, with over 2000 flights cancelled amid a crippling pilot crisis. "Ladies and gentlemen, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience." Everyone thinks IndiGo will lose. Actually, IndiGo is winning because everything is happening exactly as IndiGo wanted, and IndiGo is coming out of this fiasco with just a "sorry." You can't do anything to IndiGo. You can't even boycott IndiGo. Hashtags like "Never Fly IndiGo" won't make any difference. Because even after cancelling so many flights in the past week, IndiGo is going to come out of this mess unscathed. Because this is India, and IndiGo is too big to fail.
If you're even slightly active on social media, you must have seen such videos. Due to mass cancellations, a father is asking for sanitary pads for his daughter. IndiGo has completely twisted and broken Indian aviation. And people are angry. Everyone is stuck. Someone's wife is pregnant. "My wife is pregnant. I've been here since 7 AM. It's not like I just came and am demanding accommodation. I had 5 litres with me." Someone couldn't reach their own wedding reception, so they attended it via video call. And if something bad happens in India, how can The New York Times not write articles about it? "If you didn't have crew members, why did you give me a boarding pass? If there were no crew members, why was my luggage loaded? Why was my luggage uploaded onto the flight?" I've seen people who, for example, left from Bombay to go to Srinagar. They were told the flight is cancelled, go to Jaipur from here. Flight cancelled there too. Now go to Lucknow from here. No flight there either, go to Delhi. From Delhi to Srinagar, and even that flight from Srinagar back to Delhi got cancelled.
Your friends and family members must have made such videos. Friends, I've never seen so much mismanagement, so many problems. I came to this airport at 10 AM, and you can see what's happening behind. People have been waiting since 3 AM. And there are no flights. No clarity at all. Many people went there, and we asked what was happening. No one knows anything. Not a single IndiGo flight has taken off since morning. I came at 10 AM. Then they showed 1 PM, then 2 PM, then 3 PM. Now it's 5 PM. Now they've said 6 PM. I go and ask if there's a delay, if the flight will take off—no one knows anything. There's one girl at the IndiGo counter, and 100-200 people are asking her questions; she knows nothing. They're not announcing anything either. Imagine, friends, our event—I have spent nearly lakhs of rupees on this event, and I need to reach Delhi, but I have no backup option. Akasa and other airlines have no seats available. It's crazy.
But the truth is, despite all this anger, IndiGo will not just survive—IndiGo will win.
At this time, let's understand how this entire problem happened. Coming straight to the point. This crisis, unfolding in 2025, its warning was given to us back in 2008. The warning was that pilots are fatigued, and this could lead to accidents. At 35,000 feet, if a pilot isn't sharp, 200 passengers' lives are in danger. And such actual incidents have happened. In June 2008, an Air India flight coming from Jaipur to Mumbai, both pilots fell asleep in the cockpit. Air traffic controllers woke them up, and they woke only after the flight had crossed Mumbai and was halfway to Goa. If the controllers hadn't woken them, who knows what could have happened? It sounds funny, but it was actually very dangerous—both pilots were so fatigued they fell asleep during the flight.
And accidents have happened due to fatigue. Look at this report—it says accidents can occur due to fatigue. Air India Express Flight 812 crashed in 2010. Reason: pilot fatigue. It was a 2-hour 5-minute flight, and the captain was asleep for 1 hour 40 minutes. Out of 166 passengers, 158 did not survive. More than 15 years have passed since this incident; families are still waiting for compensation. Research says 23% of major aviation accidents happen due to fatigue. In this report, a pilot confessed: "My whole body argues that nothing life can attain is quite so desirable as sleep." Money, etc., can go to hell—sleep is most important. Pilot fatigue is a serious issue, and India's lack of rules and regulations was making Indian flights dangerous for passengers.
The issue was Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). Watch this video by Gaurav Taneja. If you want to understand in detail about pilot stress, their fatigue, and why it's risky, this video covers a lot. I would highly recommend watching it. Key takeaways from it: Since 2012, pilot unions have been demanding changes in rules. The matter went to court, and finally, in January 2024, rules were made, which were supposed to be implemented from July 2024, but airlines asked for more time and got until November 2025.
It's important to understand here that the new FDTL rules are for passenger safety. No passenger wants their pilot snoring in the cockpit. The pilot holds the safety of all passengers—he needs to be sharp. That's why these new rules are essential for passenger safety. The idea is simple: if the pilot isn't sufficiently rested, passenger safety is in danger. Different countries have different rules for this. India shouldn't lag behind. That's why this change was necessary. From November 1, 2024, new FDTL rules came in, giving pilots a mandatory 48-hour rest (two full days of recovery time). Previously, six night landings were allowed; now only two. Airlines had to redesign crew rosters according to new limits and submit quarterly reports to DGCA. This means the same pilot might not be able to fly as many flights.
When these new rules came, airlines had two options: Option 1—hire more pilots. Option 2—reduce flights. But instead of hiring more pilots, IndiGo froze hiring. This is what the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), says. FIP wrote a letter to DGCA saying that, along with freezing hiring, IndiGo made agreements with other airlines so they couldn't poach each other's pilots. Pilots' pay was also frozen. So when the new rules came, IndiGo had no buffer. If other airlines can accommodate this change, why can't IndiGo? This is the question that arises. Because of IndiGo, India is facing international embarrassment today.
This international tourist was in India, had booked an IndiGo flight that got cancelled. IndiGo offered refunds, but this guy is smart—he knows his rights. In India, Section 245: Refund means your ticket money back, and compensation means punishment for IndiGo's mistake. Both are important. As per the rules, this tourist says IndiGo must pay ₹7,500 compensation. And IndiGo should offer it themselves as a sign of goodwill to regain people's trust. Because this individual was aware, not all consumers are. But look how much effort this guy has to put in. When it comes to refunds, IndiGo announced refunds for flights from December 5 to 15. But this fiasco was already happening before December 5. So what about those whose flights were cancelled before December 5? Aren't they getting refunds? If you know the truth, tell me.
In this whole situation, think about what image we are creating. Now, IndiGo says the issue is solved, and 91% flights are on time. But just a few days ago, this was a very serious issue—hundreds of cancellations per day. People missed international flights. Entire trips ruined. And just giving refunds is not enough. This shows that when we say "the customer is king," it doesn't always apply. The customer is never the king—he's always the beggar begging for his own rights. If this seems true to you, too, tell me in the comments. Even on this forum, a lawyer said DGCA rules say that in such cases—for mental stress, incidental costs—take IndiGo to the consumer court. We want more international tourists to come to India and appreciate our country's beauty. But our procedures discourage them. How will India progress?
At the start of the video, I said IndiGo will win. Because, instead of punishment for this entire fiasco, the opposite is happening. The government has temporarily suspended the rules made for pilots' rest. Exceptions have been made for IndiGo so their flights can resume. So what was the point of this 12-year battle? Understanding this whole story, it feels like a fictional company that wants the government to reverse a decision, so it goes on an unofficial strike, like a non-cooperation movement. But at some point, the strike goes out of their control. It becomes international news. But now the government has no option—they have to listen to the company. And leave the government—you can't do anything to this company either.
The problem with IndiGo is that it is too big to fail. No matter how angry you are with IndiGo, you can't boycott them. I'll explain with numbers. Let's see the current state of Indian domestic aviation. Today, there are four major airlines and some small ones operating. Market shares are like this: SpiceJet: 2% Akasa Air: 5% Air India + Air India Express: 26.5% IndiGo: 65%. IndiGo's market share is more than double that of the number two, Air India. Looking at this data, what do you think? Can the government even force IndiGo? And if they do, and IndiGo's operations fail—what then?
As a company starts controlling more than 50% of an entire industry, it becomes like a monopoly. By this definition, IndiGo is a monopoly—where there's a single dominant seller, consumer choice becomes very limited, almost none. And this gives that company excessive power. This power can be misused, intentionally or unintentionally. So when people miss international connecting flights due to IndiGo's mismanagement, someone can't reach their wedding, someone's business suffers—what can they do against IndiGo? At most, run around consumer courts. But if no other carrier flies from their hometown, boycotting IndiGo means boycotting aviation itself. While the whole world travels by plane, just to vent anger on IndiGo, they'd have to travel by road or train. How is this even logical? A consumer has no viable option. And this is the bigger problem in this issue.
Look at this article: All Indian airlines together fly 1200 routes. Of which, IndiGo operates 950. That's good—IndiGo has good coverage. But next line: Out of those, on 600 routes (63%), IndiGo has a monopoly. Meaning consumers have no option. India's airline sector is growing very fast. Right now, India has 160 airports (big and small), which will increase to more than 220 in the next 10 years. Under the UDAN scheme, more than 450 new routes have been launched. Regional connectivity is increasing, and the Indian middle class is becoming aspirational—they want to fly. Their time is important. Meaning demand for airlines will increase. So, who will control this huge, growing market?
Our Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu says air travel demand is rising, and we need five big airlines. Where we need foresight, we're getting oversight—meaning where we need more airlines, one after another is shutting down in India. Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Go First. In the last 15 years, 12 airlines have shut down. Of which, seven in the last 5 years. No matter how angry people are with IndiGo today, we will never want IndiGo to fail in India. Because if IndiGo fails, the entire Indian aviation industry could collapse. Not just one company—the whole industry is at stake.
IndiGo's track record in India's aviation industry has been quite good. While other airlines run in losses, IndiGo makes profits. Running an airline is not easy. And why do so many airlines fail in India? We've made a video about that—you can watch it here. Making a profit is not wrong at all. In fact, if you're a business, by definition, your objective should be profit. Yes, that profit shouldn't be exploitative—that's important. The problem with IndiGo this month was that while other airlines started hiring pilots, IndiGo delayed action. And hiring in aviation doesn't happen overnight—hire today, and a pilot flies tomorrow? No. If taking a pilot from another airline, a 6-month notice period is required. Then 30 days of ground school, 30 days of simulator training, and 15 days of base training. It takes time. That's a fact.
And now it's a catch-22 situation: If IndiGo cancels flights, what happens to passengers? The only other option is—no inconvenience to passengers, so make exceptions to these new rules. Let IndiGo operate as before. What about passenger safety in this situation? There's a problem on both sides. To prevent such a situation from arising, there's only one solution: Don't let monopolies form.
At the end of the video, we have to ask some important questions. Why are airlines failing one after another in India? Why do pilots feel fatigued? Why does it take 12 years for an important decision? Why is our judiciary so slow? The airline sector is one sector—why are monopolies forming in other sectors too? What are we doing to promote fair competition? What are we doing to protect consumer rights? When a company causes loss to consumers due to mismanagement, who is responsible for compensating that loss? These questions are important. If you have such questions too, please tell us in the comments.
In this video, we talked about monopolies—how, when one player becomes too big in an industry, the consumer suffers, whether that big player is successful or unsuccessful. And this monopoly problem is not just in aviation. Just think about it. The same problem is happening in telecom. In cement, steel, tyres—big important sectors—either one or two companies control the entire market. This is against free market principles, and it's a big warning for India. What is happening with IndiGo today could happen in any industry tomorrow. That's why it's important to have healthy competition in the market. Power shouldn't be concentrated in a few hands. New companies should keep coming, and they shouldn't face bureaucratic hurdles, so they don't fail before becoming big. Because when monopolies control the market, only the consumer loses. And this is the important message I want to convey to you.
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