India's aviation sector, the fastest-growing globally, faced major disruption this week as IndiGo, which operates around 60 per cent of domestic flights, experienced extensive cancellations and delays . This week alone, IndiGo recorded over 1,200 flight cancellations, its on-time performance (OTP) fell to 67.70 per cent in November from 84.1 per cent in October, per data submitted to DGCA and shared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

This explainer unpacks the underlying systemic issues using DGCA data and industry reports, providing clarity on the turmoil.

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What exactly happened in the first week of December?

The crisis peaked on December 2–4. IndiGo axed 130–200 flights each day (for example, 42 in Bengaluru, 38 in Delhi, 33 in Mumb

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