ON TIME, OUT OF TOUCH: INDIGOS CRISIS OF SILENCE: A CASE STUDY

Executive Summary:- In December 2025, IndiGo - the dominant player in India’s domestic aviation market, long defined by its promise of operational reliability-faced an unprecedented disruption when new pilot-rest regulations exposed vulnerabilities in its tightly optimised scheduling system. Within days, cascading crew shortages led to thousands of flight cancellations, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers nationwide and triggering a nationwide service crisis. Although the operational breakdown was significant, the airline’s muted and delayed communication quickly escalated the situation into a reputational crisis. Passengers received little timely information, frontline staff lacked clear guidance, and leadership remained largely absent from public view. As frustration mounted, social media amplified customer anger, shifting the narrative from a logistical failure to perceived indifference.