New Delhi: The country’s largest airline IndiGo has proposed measures such as setting up a crisis management group, not to overcharge passengers and temporarily hand over slots to airport authorities in case of large-scale flight disruptions as part of commitments to address the alleged abuse of market dominance by the airline that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is investigating.
The CCI on Thursday invited public comments on the commitment proposal submitted by IndiGo’s parent company InterGlobe Aviation Limited, following the alleged unfair trade practices by the airline during the widespread flight disruptions in December 2025 which resulted in widespread chaos in the country’s aviation sector.
The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, provides a settlement and commitment mechanism which allows companies facing CCI’s antitrust investigations to voluntarily offer corrective measures or agree to certain terms to resolve cases without prolonged litigation.
The objective of the provision is to reduce litigation and ensure quicker market correction.
The commitment proposal by IndiGo proposes constituting 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 a large-scale disruption causing cancellation of flights, IndiGo said it would undertake measures for planning and executing network adjustments to regularise operations.
IndiGo has termed a “large-scale disruption” as a situation in which more than 30 per cent of its planned capacity for a day. This excludes cancellations caused by circumstances beyond the airline’s control, such as adverse weather, technical failures, regulatory restrictions, crew strikes, airport closures and other force majeure events.
For affected passengers, the airline has proposed alternative flights within 48 to 72 hours without additional charges or fare differences.
Passengers who do not accept the alternative arrangement, or cannot be accommodated, would receive automatic refunds within a defined period and compensation under applicable Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requirements.
In its commitment proposal, IndiGo has offered not to charge fares above those recently submitted to the DGCA for fresh bookings during a large-scale disruption of flights until capacity is restored.
The airline has claimed in its application 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.
It has offered the commitments to address the Commission’s preliminary concerns and reduce passenger inconvenience.
The Commission has invited comments, objections and suggestions from interested persons and stakeholders on IndiGo’s commitment proposal by August 13, 2026.
CCI had ordered an investigation against IndiGo based on prima facie evidence of abuse of dominant position on February 4, 2026.
The Commission 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.
IndiGo cancelled more than 4,000 flights between December 1 and 9 last year mainly due to crew shortages as it had failed to manage its pilot duty roster when the DGCA’s second phase of the flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms. This had stranded planes across airports in the country, with travel schedules of flyers going haywire.
(IANS)
