IndiGo: Legal remedies exist to address any abuse of dominance

The airline's market grip must be undone if Indian skies are to be kept open and fair to everyone

- DHANENDRA KUMAR

In the bustling skies of India, where air travel has become the lifeblood of a rapidly growing economy, a single airline's dominance can destabilize the entire nation.

December 2025 will long be remembered as the month when IndiGo, India's undisputed aviation giant, triggered the country's worst ever flight crisis with its disregard for regulation. In the past few days, this air carrier, boasting a fleet of over 350 aircraft and a domestic market share of around 64%, descended into chaos amid the cancellation of thousands of its flights that left tens of thousands of Indian passengers stranded. Families got separated, business executives lost deals and medical evacuations had to be rerouted. The sight of women and children in distress became routine.

Meanwhile, flight fares rose astronomically and hotels too jumped into the fray. What began as a routine implementation of fatigue-mitigating crew rest rules snowballed into a historic aviation disaster. It is a stark reminder of the perils of aviation dominance in the world's third-largest market for air travel services. Fortunately, the government acted with exemplary swiftness, running trains, capping fares and providing temporary relief from rules.