IndiGo Flight Crisis Wipes Out Rs 1,000 Crore For Delhi Businesses, Trade Body Says

The ongoing operational crisis at IndiGo is now hitting Delhi far beyond airport terminals, dealing a significant blow to the city’s trade, tourism, and events sectors. The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has estimated that large-scale flight cancellations have already caused losses of nearly Rs 1,000 crore.

Market Footfall Drops Amid Flight Disruptions

CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal highlighted the impact on the movement of traders, tourists, and business travellers, noting a 25 per cent drop in market footfall over the past 10 days. Normally, over 1.5 lakh passengers travel daily from Delhi airport, with roughly 50,000 being traders and business travellers. Repeated flight cancellations have drastically reduced this movement, leading to direct losses in wholesale markets, retail hubs, and commercial districts.

Hotels, Restaurants, and Event Venues Face Mass Cancellations

The hospitality sector has been severely affected. Hotels, restaurants, banquets, and resorts reported thousands of cancellations over the past week alone. Exhibition and events venues, including Pragati Maidan and Anand Mandapam, have also suffered. Large exhibitions covering automobiles, handloom, textiles, home furnishing, and auto components saw significant absenteeism, as many traders and visitors could not reach the city.

Tourism and Destination Weddings Hit Hard

The crisis comes at the start of Delhi’s peak tourism season, which typically runs until mid-January. Manoj Khandelwal, Director of Manoj Travels, noted that Christmas and New Year bookings have already been affected, while some destination weddings have faced disruptions due to guests unable to reach venues, resulting in cascading losses for hotels, transport operators, caterers, and event planners.

Government Steps In To Reallocate Flights

The aviation regulator, DGCA, directed IndiGo to curtail 10% of its operations following persistent disruption. In response, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has initiated a plan to redistribute curtailed capacity among other domestic carriers, including Air India, Akasa, and SpiceJet.

Officials indicated that the redistribution aims to restore passenger confidence, prevent further cancellations, and send a strong signal to the industry that operational failures will impact market share. The reallocation is expected to be implemented staggeredly to avoid compounding the disruptions.

IndiGo Operations to Continue Amid Redistribution

IndiGo will continue operating across all destinations, though high-frequency and high-demand routes are expected to feel the maximum impact of the redistribution. Traders’ bodies have warned that if operational stability is not restored soon, losses could mount further across Delhi’s markets, hotels, event venues, and tourism operators.