The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday granted under-fire airline IndiGo a one-time 24-hour extension to submit its response to a show-cause notice issued in the aftermath of chaos across India's airports, which has been triggered by mass flight cancellations by the budget carrier.
For six days in a row, IndiGo flight operations have been significantly disrupted resulting in massive flight cancellations and delays impacting travel plans of thousands of passengers. Against this backdrop, the regulator had issued the show cause notices.
“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted the Accountable Manager and CEO of M/s IndiGo a one-time 24-hour extension to submit its response to the Show-Cause Notice issued on 06 December 2025 regarding recent large-scale operational disruptions and observed non-compliances,” the aviation watchdog said in a statement.
“The two functionaries in their request dated 07 December 2025, sought additional time for a response citing operational constraints due to the scale of its nationwide operations and multiple unavoidable factors that contributed to disruptions across several airports,” the DGCA statement added.
In the show cause notices issued on Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had asked Elbers and Porqueras to give their replies by Sunday evening.
The official said the deadline for replies were extended following requests from both the airline executives.
That said, the aviation watchdog warned that a failure to submit a comprehensive response to the show-cause notice within the timeframe “will result in the regulator proceeding ex-parte, based on the available records.”
“The two executives on Sunday had sought additional time for a response citing operational constraints due to the scale of its nationwide operations and multiple unavoidable factors that contributed to disruptions across several airports,” the official said, as reported by PTI.
According to the official, DGCA continues to monitor the situation closely.
IndiGo responds to Show Cause Notice
IndiGo responded to the ‘Show Cause Notice’, in relation to the recent operational disruption caused to IndiGo's flight network.
See the reply here:
“We request your good offices to kindly grant us an extension of time at least till 1800 hours tomorrow (i.e. 08.12.2025), or such other extended period to reply, as deemed fit,” said Isidre Porqueras Orea, Accountable Manager and Chief Operating Officer (COO), IndiGo.
The civil aviation ministry, which has taken various measures, including capping airfares and directing IndiGo to expedite ticket refund process, on Sunday said air travel operations across the country are stabilising at a fast pace.
IndiGo on Sunday cancelled over 650 flights while the disrupted operations were slowly stabilising as the number of cancellations reduced and more than ₹610 crore worth ticket refunds were processed for the affected passengers.
The board of IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation has set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG), which is meeting regularly to monitor the situation, an announcement said on Sunday.