Rahul Gandhi slams Centre for IndiGo fiasco, calls it cost of govt's monopoly model

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre on Friday, alleging that the IndiGo "fiasco" is the cost of the government's "monopoly model". He also said that the nation deserves fair competition in every sector rather than monopolies driven by match-fixing.

The remarks come in the wake of the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights on Friday, disrupting passengers. The airline had cancelled 550 flights on Thursday and 400 on Friday, to which Gandhi responded, saying that ordinary Indians pay the price for delays and cancellations.

"IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt's monopoly model. Once again, it's ordinary Indians who pay the price - in delays, cancellations and helplessness," the Leader of Opposition said in a post on X.

"India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies," Gandhi asserted.

IndiGo informed the DGCA on Thursday that the operations are expected to be fully stabilised by February 10, 2026. The airline also sought temporary relaxations in flight duty norms after it had to cancel more than 550 flights due to misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In addition, the airline noted that further cancellations will continue until December 8, after which services will also be reduced.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held a high-level review meeting to assess the situation regarding significant flight disruptions and expressed his displeasure at the way IndiGo handled the implementation of the new FDTL norms, despite having ample time.

(With PTI inputs)