IndiGo officially apologized to the Union government on Monday, December 8, 2025. The airline sought more time to respond to show-cause notices from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). IndiGo stated that DGCA rules allow a 15-day window to reply, unlike the 48-hour limit given. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said the airline told the government it was "not realistically possible to pinpoint the exact causes" of the flight disruptions. The problems are complex due to the airline's large-scale operations. The DGCA had issued show-cause notices on Saturday to IndiGo's Chief Operating Officer Isidro Porqueras and CEO Pieter Elbers. They cited "large-scale operational failures" as signs of poor planning, oversight, and resource management. The notices also mentioned IndiGo's failure to follow new pilot rest and duty hour norms effective November 1. Over the past week, IndiGo cancelled more than 4,000 flights. Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu told the Rajya Sabha that 15.3 lakh passengers were affected between November 21 and December 7. The airline explained that disruptions arose from technical glitches, flight schedule changes due to winter, bad weather, system congestion, and new pilot rest rules, especially those limiting night flying to reduce pilot fatigue. IndiGo’s statement also showed improvement. Flight cancellations on Monday dropped to 500 from 1,500 on December 5. Punctuality rose sharply from just 3.5% of flights running on time to over 90% departing within 15 minutes of schedule. The airline paid ₹826 crore in refunds and returned 4,500 delayed bags after the government issued a December 6 ultimatum to resolve passenger complaints promptly. In the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Surya Kant called the situation "serious". He noted the cancellations had deeply impacted passengers traveling for medical care and work. However, he declined to intervene, saying the government was already working on a solution. (With inputs from Krishnadas Rajagopal)