IndiGo under CCI lens for potential abuse of dominance amid operations meltdown

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is assessing whether IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, may have violated competition laws as regulators continue to scrutinise the carrier over severe operational disruptions earlier this month. A senior CCI official confirmed on Friday that the watchdog has begun an internal review to determine whether the airline’s dominant position contributed to the crisis.

IndiGo, which controls more than 65% of India’s domestic aviation market, cancelled several hundred flights beginning December 2, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across major airports. While the airline has initiated recovery measures and the situation is gradually stabilising, the scale of the breakdown has triggered multi-agency scrutiny.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is already probing the disruptions and has intensified its oversight of the airline’s operations. Alongside operational concerns, questions have arisen within regulatory and industry circles about whether IndiGo’s market dominance played a role in the extent of the disruption.

According to the CCI official, the authority is evaluating a range of factors, including IndiGo’s overall dominance, its strength on specific high-traffic routes, and whether its conduct could amount to abuse of dominance under Section 4 of the Competition Act. This section defines abuse as either exploitative—such as excessive pricing—or exclusionary, including denial of market access.

The official emphasised that while IndiGo’s size alone is not a violation, any misuse of its dominant position would raise red flags. Notably, no formal complaint has been filed against the airline. The watchdog is proceeding suo motu, relying on publicly available information, internal assessments, and sectoral data to determine if there is prima facie evidence warranting a formal investigation.

Under standard procedure, the CCI first conducts an internal review of facts and circumstances before deciding whether the threshold for initiating a probe has been met. Only if this initial assessment reveals potential violations will a detailed investigation be ordered.

The disruptions at IndiGo are being widely attributed to the airline’s inadequate planning ahead of the rollout of revised flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms, effective November 1, 2025. Industry sources have indicated that the airline struggled to realign crew schedules under the new framework, leading to cascading cancellations and operational strain.

In an attempt to support affected travellers, IndiGo has offered ₹10,000 travel vouchers to passengers who were severely impacted between December 3 and 5.

The CCI, mandated to curb anti-competitive behaviour and promote fair market practices, has the authority to impose penalties and issue cease-and-desist orders across sectors. Its examination of IndiGo marks one of the rare instances where competition concerns intersect with large-scale operational failures in the aviation industry.

As regulators deepen their inquiries, the outcome of the CCI’s review could have wider implications for dominant players in sectors where disruptions significantly impact consumers and the broader economy.