Ambuj Sharma, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, addresses the press regarding IndiGo’s mass flight cancellations, in Chennai on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
Akhila Easwaran
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has deputed its top officials to various airports for a ground reality check to monitor operations and assure passengers that things are slowly returning to normal. This is after large-scale disruptions in air travel across the country in the last nine days due to IndiGo’s flight cancellations.
For instance, Ambuj Sharma, Deputy Secretary, MoCA, was at the Chennai Airport on Wednesday to meet with various stakeholders, including airlines. He inspected the airport during the day and spoke to passengers at the terminals to get their feedback on the operations.
Similarly, many senior officials from MoCA have been sent to other airports like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Pune, he told newspersons after inspecting the terminals. Many passengers at the Chennai airport gave positive feedback on the operations while some had issues with the toilets and car parking. These are being looked at and action will be taken at the earliest, said Sharma, who also happens to be Public Grievances Officer in the Ministry.
“It was a crisis well handled from our side. Things are slowly returning to normal,” he said on the IndiGo flight cancellations.
Dip in revenue
Raja Kishore, Chennai Airport Director, said that there was a dip in revenue for the airport due to the cancellations but did not give a number. “We are still working on this,” he added.
In the last nine days, a total of 629 IndiGo flights were cancelled and 1,317 flights were delayed, he said.
On December 1, at the airport, there were a total of 209 arrivals and 208 departures. This number started to decline from the next day to a low of 132 arrivals and 123 departures on December 5. However, from the next day, it started to increase to 176 arrivals and 174 departures on December 9, he said.
On Wednesday, 37 arrivals and 33 departures of IndiGo flights were cancelled, the Chennai airport said.
Published on December 10, 2025
