Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) has launched a strong attack on the board of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, following last week’s widespread flight disruptions across major airports. SES alleged that operational chaos marked by delays, cancellations, and surging airfares stemmed from a deep-rooted culture of operational complacency and conscious commercial decisions that compromised pilot fatigue norms under Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL).

According to SES, despite regulatory warnings and clear compliance mandates, the board and its key sub-committees — including the Risk Management Committee and the Stakeholders Relationship Committee — failed to anticipate or mitigate the crisis. The advisory firm questioned why a Crisis Management Group was constituted only after the situation escalated, suggesting that board meeting records could reveal whether non-compliance risks were discussed but ignored.

SES further alleged that IndiGo failed both employees and passengers by overworking crew, risking safety, and charging what it described as “super-normal” fares after capacity shrank due to its own operational lapses. It criticised IndiGo’s public explanation that blamed weather, technology issues, winter scheduling, and congestion, asking why other airlines were not affected to a similar extent if those factors were the true cause.

The report also questioned whether InterGlobe Aviation violated the disclosure norms under SEBI’s LODR Regulations by not informing stock exchanges about show-cause notices issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on August 11 and December 6 over the use of “non-approved full flight simulators” and other compliance failures. SES urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India to examine whether mandatory disclosures were bypassed.

SES also raised concerns about the effectiveness of IndiGo’s Stakeholders Relationship Committee, noting that employees and passengers represent the airline’s largest stakeholder groups. The advisory firm alleged that both were failed during the crisis — through safety risks and fare exploitation — and called on shareholders to question the board’s oversight.

The firm cautioned against knee-jerk government action, stating that dismissing the board and CEO would not solve the structural issues. It stressed the need for detailed introspection into how India’s aviation market has slipped into a near-duopoly and urged policy reforms to strengthen competition and regulatory enforcement.

SES further recommended that the DGCA mandate prominent display of the Passenger Charter across airlines and booking platforms. It also urged the regulator to consider disgorgement of excess fares collected during the disruption and impose penalties equivalent to cost savings made through FDTL violations, calling the episode a case where “failure brought bounty.”