The central government has directed IndiGo to start compensation payouts for thousands of passengers affected by large-scale flight disruptions earlier this month. The Aviation Ministry told the airline to roll out payments without delay and make sure that every eligible traveller receives the benefit.
The order follows heavy passenger complaints after widespread cancellations and long airport delays between December 3 and December 5. Many passengers waited for hours after flights were cancelled or rescheduled at short notice across airports in the country.
According to officials, IndiGo will issue travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000 each to severely affected passengers from December 26. These vouchers will be given in addition to the mandatory government-prescribed compensation of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for delayed or cancelled flights. The total amount will depend on the individual case. 
The instructions were conveyed by Aviation Secretary Samir Sinha during a review meeting held on Friday. Government sources said IndiGo must first compensate passengers who booked directly through the airline website because their details are easily available. The airline has also been ordered to collect passenger information from travel agents and online travel platforms so that compensation can be issued to those customers as well.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been asked to supervise the compensation transfer and confirm that it reaches every affected customer. The Civil Aviation Ministry will monitor complaints on its Air Seva grievance portal.
Many passengers who booked through online travel agencies have reported delays in receiving refunds even after IndiGo initiated payments. One affected passenger, identified as Asha Sen, a resident of south Delhi, said she paid partly with credit card reward points for her December 7 Udaipur-Delhi flight. She said that IndiGo informed her that the refund had been processed, but the travel agency had not yet returned the amount or restored the points. She said the delay has caused inconvenience.
IndiGo has said that it has already processed full refunds for cancelled flights from the disruption period without deductions. Senior executives said that travel agencies now hold the responsibility to pass refunds to customers. Travel industry sources said major platforms like MakeMyTrip have already begun returning money even before receiving final settlement amounts from IndiGo. MakeMyTrip alone has reportedly refunded nearly Rs 10 crore to affected passengers. The DGCA reportedly met online travel agencies last week and told them to refund passengers in full without cuts.
IndiGo cancelled 4,354 flights between December 1 and December 9. Of these, 2,456 domestic flights and 51 international flights were cancelled on December 3, 4 and 5. Based on an estimated average of 150 passengers per cancelled flight during these three days, more than 3.8 lakh passengers may qualify for travel vouchers. The total value of vouchers and payouts is expected to exceed Rs 376 crore.
