IndiGo crisis: Trade, tourism sectors suffer Rs 1,000 crore loss

The ongoing operational crisis at IndiGo has begun to ripple far beyond airport terminals, inflicting a massive blow on Delhi’s economy.

The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has estimated that the airline’s large-scale flight cancellations have already resulted in a business loss of nearly Rs 1,000 crore to the capital’s trade, industry, tourism and exhibition sectors. CTI, an umbrella body for Delhi’s market associations, reported a 25 per cent drop in footfall at major markets across the city over the past 10 days.

CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said that daily flight disruptions have severely impacted the movement of traders, tourists and business travellers, leading to a sharp fall in market activity across the city.

According to him, footfall in Delhi’s markets has dropped by almost 25 per cent over the past 10 days as travellers from outside the city have stayed away due to uncertainty around air travel. He said that over 1.5 lakh passengers normally travel daily from Delhi airport, nearly 50,000 of whom are traders and business travellers. However, news of repeated IndiGo cancellations has drastically reduced this movement, resulting in direct losses for wholesale markets, retail hubs and commercial districts. He added that hotels, restaurants, banquets and resorts have seen thousands of cancellations over the past week alone.

The impact has been particularly severe on Delhi’s exhibition and events ecosystem. Over the last 10 days, large exhibitions covering automobiles, handloom, textiles, home furnishing and auto components have been underway at Pragati Maidan and Anand Mandapam. These events had drawn thousands of traders and visitors from across the country, but a significant number were unable to reach Delhi due to last-minute flight cancellations.

Travel industry executives say the crisis has now begun spilling into the peak tourism season. Manoj Khandelwal, Director of Manoj Travels, said this period usually marks the start of Delhi’s strongest tourism window, running till mid-January. However, the current disruption has already begun to hit Christmas and New Year bookings. Destination weddings have also taken a hit, with entire wedding parties unable to reach venues in some cases, causing cascading losses to hotels, transport operators, caterers and event planners.

On Tuesday, the government ordered a 10 per cent cut in the airline’s winter schedule. “The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10 per cent has been ordered. While abiding by it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before,” Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said. The move is also intended to send a strong signal to the aviation industry that passengers cannot be taken for granted, and that operational failures will directly impact market share.

IndiGo has been facing operational disruptions for more than one week after the new crew rostering rule came into effect, allowing increased rest periods for pilots and other staff, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays.