DGCA suspends 4 FOIs over IndiGo disruptions; airline rolls out refunds and extra compensation
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IndiGo is offering travel vouchers worth INR 10,000 to such severely impacted customers.
In the wake of massive operational disruptions, India’s aviation safety regulator DGCA has suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs), according to PTI. Over 50 flights from Bengaluru Airport on Friday, triggering widespread passenger inconvenience.
Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) are senior officials within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) who play a key role in regulatory and safety oversight. They are routinely deployed to monitor and evaluate airline operations to ensure compliance with aviation standards.
Also, in an official statement, IndiGo stated that it has initiated all necessary refunds for cancelled flights, with most already credited to customers’ accounts and the remaining expected shortly. Refund actions have also been initiated for bookings made through travel partners.
The airline acknowledged that several passengers travelling on December 3, 4, and 5, 2025, were stranded for extended hours at certain airports due to severe congestion, for which IndiGo is offering travel vouchers worth INR 10,000 to such severely impacted customers. These travel vouchers can be used for any future IndiGo journey for the next 12 months.
This compensation is in addition to payouts mandated under existing government guidelines, as per which IndiGo will provide compensation of INR 5,000 to INR 10,000, depending on the block time of the flight, to those customers whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of departure time.
"Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, veteran aviation expert, to conduct an independent expert review and assessment of the recent operational disruption and the contributing factors," the airline said in a statement.
The parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, has already constituted a crisis management group as disruptions since December 2 continue to strain operations. According to IndiGo, the independent review will begin immediately, with a detailed report to be submitted to the board. "The objective is to conduct an independent root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption, besides opportunities for improvement," it said.
