Competition watchdog orders probe into IndiGo after mass flight cancellations

India’s competition regulator has ordered a detailed probe into IndiGo over alleged unfair business practices, a little over two months after the airline cancelled thousands of flights due to operational issues. The order was passed on Wednesday after the regulator formed a prima facie view that the airline’s actions may have harmed competition and affected passengers during a peak travel period.

In a 16-page order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that IndiGo, which holds a dominant position in the domestic aviation market, may have abused its strength by cancelling a large number of flights.

The regulator said these cancellations formed a significant part of the airline’s scheduled capacity and resulted in an artificial shortage of seats.

MARKET SHARE AND COMPETITION CONCERNS

At present, IndiGo commands more than 65% of India’s domestic air travel market. In December, the market share of the Air India Group rose to 29.6%, while Akasa Air’s share increased to 5.2%. In the previous month, their market shares stood at 26.7% and 4.7%, respectively.

SpiceJet also saw its market share rise to 4.3% in December from 3.7% in November 2025. State-owned Alliance Air’s market share remained unchanged at 0.4% during the same period.

The regulator noted that by cancelling thousands of flights, IndiGo may have restricted the supply of air travel services at a time when demand was high. This, it said, limited consumer access to air travel.

According to the order, “Such conduct by a dominant enterprise may be viewed as restricting the provision of services under Section 4(2)(b)(i) of the Act.” Section 4 of the Competition Act deals with the abuse of a dominant position by a company.

The regulator added that, at a prima facie level, IndiGo’s conduct appeared to have caused an adverse effect on competition in India. Based on this view, it ordered a detailed investigation by its Director General to examine the matter further.

DECEMBER DISRUPTIONS AND DGCA ACTION

The disruptions took place in early December, when IndiGo faced large-scale operational problems. Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation curtailed the airline’s winter schedule by 10% until February 10.

More than 10.4 lakh passengers were affected by flight cancellations in December. Over 93% of these passengers were impacted due to cancellations by IndiGo alone, according to data shared by the aviation regulator.

Scheduled domestic airlines paid more than Rs 24.27 crore towards compensation and passenger facilities for flight cancellations in December. Out of this, IndiGo accounted for Rs 22.74 crore, as its cancellations affected around 9.82 lakh passengers during the month.

The data also showed that flight delays affected around 8.34 lakh passengers in December. Airlines spent about Rs 4.50 crore towards facilities for passengers affected by delays.

FINES AND WARNINGS ISSUED BY AVIATION REGULATOR

On January 17, the aviation regulator imposed fines totalling Rs 22.20 crore on IndiGo for the December disruptions.

It also issued warnings to the airline’s chief executive officer Pieter Elbers and two other senior executives for operational lapses.

In addition, the regulator directed IndiGo to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore to ensure long-term system-level improvements and prevent similar issues in the future.

INDIGO SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE TODAY

Shares of IndiGo’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, were trading lower on Wednesday. As per stock exchange data, the shares were trading at Rs 4,869.30.

This marked a fall of Rs 94.60 from the previous close of Rs 4,963.90. As of 12:30 PM, the stock was trading down around 2% for the day.

During the session, the stock opened at Rs 4,835.15, touched a high of Rs 4,882.85 and a low of Rs 4,782.45. The volume-weighted average price stood at around Rs 4,855.51. Over the past year, the stock has moved between a 52-week high of Rs 6,225.05 and a 52-week low of Rs 4,161.

The detailed investigation ordered by the competition regulator will now examine whether IndiGo’s actions amounted to an abuse of its dominant position and whether they led to harm for passengers and competition in the domestic aviation market.