In December 2025, IndiGo, India’s largest airline, experienced a scheduling crisis, which led to the cancellation of thousands of flights. The issue arose after it failed to adjust to the new flight crew time limitations mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The incident triggered domestic flight disruption and stranded half a million passengers
In India, air travel demand peaks during the December holiday season (Christmas/New Year) and the summer months of May and June due to school vacations, with significant spikes also occurring during the extended Diwali/wedding season. Before we begin, I must caveat that I have no inside information either from the airline industry or the aviation regulator. I am merely drawing on my general knowledge of leadership, organisational culture, military knowledge and aviation experience as a pilot. Although my experience and knowledge are limited, I believe I can still offer some valuable insights that can benefit the aviation industry. These lessons revolve around the need for adaptability and decentralisation in such situations, in particular, but also in this Information Age in general.
Recap of the Situation
India’s commercial aviation has seen explosive growth in the last decade, becoming the world’s third-largest domestic market, driven by rising incomes, UDAN scheme connectivity, and massive airport expansion (74 to over 150 airports). Despite challenges like infrastructure strain and high fuel costs, the industry holds vast potential, with projections to become the third-largest global passenger market by 2030. The new FDTL rule was initially meant to be implemented from Jun 2024; however was paused due to pressure from various airlines. Finally, it was implemented in a phased manner in Jul and November this year. Despite an extended preparatory window, the implementation of the FDTL scheme led to long delays and cancellations.
Initial speculation pointed to multiple factors, from inclement weather, crew shortage, congestion, etc, but it could not account for the complete breakdown of the system and the huge percentage of the flights being cancelled and especially when compared with other airlines of the country. On the ground, the airline was unable to give any information to the passengers about their flight cancellations or the extent of delays. The passengers were boarded and then asked to de-board, which caused further confusion and erosion of trust between passengers, staff and management. The dispatchers were unable to track the location and status of the aircrew and aircraft. The frontline staff were left alone to face throngs of frustrated passengers. I do not doubt that airline staff did everything they could to accommodate the passengers, but their efforts were woefully inadequate because they lacked the proper tools and support. An incident similar to what happened with Southwest Airlines of America in 2022 was being replayed in India across the length and breadth of the country. What would be cost of such a misadventure in terms of lost revenue or trust of many valued passengers and their own employees is not yet fully known.
Centralised Command and Decentralised Control & Execution
Airline operations are complex and based on a system of systems. A System of Systems (SoS) is a collection of independent, operational systems that integrate to achieve a larger, common mission. Airlines, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Emergency and Safety services, ground support, and security systems, etc, all coordinate for safe and efficient flights. The airline operations are delicately managed for efficiency and profit. All of this is coordinated by a complex systems that track the location and status of aircraft and crew members and their movement around the network. Their routes, fuel and payload, crew member staging, and crew accommodations at the destination are all centrally managed to optimise that efficiency. Since any perturbation can cause unanticipated second- and third-order effects, these systems also help to resolve problems caused by disruption in as efficient a manner as possible. When anything goes wrong, these systems depend on immediate and constant access to vast amounts of data, requiring steady communication between the central office and all operating locations. When that communication is inhibited, these systems become useless, unable to adapt to the situation. This means that such systems optimised for efficiency become worthless in crises (when they are needed most), thus crippling their users just as Southwest Airlines’ operations were crippled in 2022.
These centralised systems are the result of Industrial Age thinking. A Centralised Centre is a core hub that integrates data, monitoring, and operations for an organisation, acting as a “nerve centre” to provide real-time situational awareness, manage emergencies, and coordinate responses, enabling unified decision-making and efficient management of complex operations. But now in the Information Age, technology enables that efficiency much more easily, meaning that the new competitive advantage comes from centralised command and decentralised control and execution. This provides adaptability to disruption. This is a strategic framework, especially in military and complex systems, where high-level goals and resource allocation are set centrally, but decisions and execution are delegated to lower, local levels, allowing for faster, adaptable action on the ground while maintaining strategic alignment. It balances broad strategic oversight with localised tactical autonomy, making it ideal for dynamic environments where central leaders can’t know everything but need to ensure actions support the overall mission. Recent examples of centralised command and control going wrong are-
- When hundreds of pilots and cabin crew reported that “We were available for flights but were not assigned duties”.
- Total loss of communication with passengers during the crisis.
- Southwest Airlines’ Meltdown in 2022 was due to severe weather in North America.
- In Jul 2024, a faulty update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon endpoint security software corrupted Windows systems, resulting in significant disruptions of airline operations and delays.
The military has moved beyond the centralised command and control model that has worked so well in the Industrial Age-minded past to a system of “centralised command, distributed control, and decentralised execution”. The new process is required for any future war or military operations in which communication is likely to be cut off by enemy action. This is equally important for the corporate world, as increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks can quickly render any organisation’s communication methods inoperable. This makes organisations that rely on centralised decision-making and its enabling systems especially vulnerable. Thus, what used to be a competitive advantage is now a liability. Instead, those who distribute decision-making ability to the lowest possible level will be much more adaptable and less vulnerable and thus will have the competitive advantage.
Sharing Information
The data needs to be available at all operating locations and shared with all who need it in order to facilitate decentralised decision-making. In the information Age, data is the most important commodity, so its movement is the most important thing to be optimised. The core problem in all the above cases of airline flight disruption was that the data was not available and therefore had to be passed using phone calls, which was inadequate. The data required simply could not be ingested, processed, and output in anywhere near the volume needed. Thus, the centralised system became the single point of failure.
In my opinion, if the local leadership had access to all the data, been trained and empowered to control and execute with the available resources, the level of disruptions would have been much less pronounced. Also, if some of that data were available and subsequently shared with the passenger as information, the vast majority of the frustration would have been eliminated as well. The most frustrating part of this situation for a passenger was the lack of information. Lack of information for passengers also causes anxiety, which in turn leads to angry customers. Conversely, regular and honest updates have a calming effect, instilling hope that the situation will be resolved and thus fostering cooperation among customers in addition to reducing the strain on employees.
De-centralise Decision-Making & Execution
Whether intentional or not, Industrial Age systems perpetuate the Industrial Age mentality that undervalues the ability of people at all levels to make decisions. This leads to possibly the most important lesson: empowering employees by equipping people at all locations with the tools that enable them to coordinate with each other and make decisions when communications with the Command office are limited. With the proper knowledge, training, and tools, employees at any level and location can make critical decisions. Computer systems need to help people make sense of information to make decisions. The processes and systems of the organisation need to work for the people in the organisation, not vice versa. Those processes are the responsibility of leadership, so part of taking care of people is giving them the right tools and processes to empower their ability to make decisions that will serve the customers. Thus, investment in these tools should be properly prioritised, with their long-term benefits in helping employees to serve customers better weighed more heavily than their immediate price tag.
If local leadership had possessed decision-making and execution authority, the number of cancellations could have been reduced. When combined with honest efforts and frequent status updates, passengers would have become more flexible and patient with airline staff and would have become part of the broader team to resolve the situation by changing their travel plan according to the situation. This may have resulted in more people reaching their destination faster. Ultimately, leaders need to serve their employees first so that they can, in turn, serve their customers.
Supporting Aviation Workforce
People in commercial aviation are crucial for connecting the world, driving economies, and enabling global trade by safely transporting passengers and cargo, with roles spanning pilots, cabin crew, air traffic controllers, engineers, and ground staff who manage complex operations and ensure adherence to strict safety standards, creating millions of jobs and supporting diverse industries. In my opinion, the failure of the Regulator to support this large workforce is far worse than the Regulator’s inability to prevent such large-scale delays and cancellations. It is through this workforce that the Regulator and airlines support and serve their customers. The Regulator is equally to blame for rolling out policies which support corporates, a culture of monopoly, compromising with safety, prioritising profits over needed system upgrades and ignoring persistent warnings from the employees and associations. There is a desperate need for a union of aviation workers.
Workers’ unions are crucial for balancing employer power, giving employees a collective voice to secure better pay, benefits, and safer conditions through collective bargaining, while also promoting workplace equality, job security, training, and advocating for broader labour rights and social justice. In aviation, a worker union also works as a guardian of safety and security, advocates better practices to reduce fatigue and stress and worker well-being. At present, in India, we do not have a body representing pilots/cabin crew or ground staff with which the Regulator engages regularly before making decisions or forming policies. Having a workers’ union or body is very important for the long-term health of the aviation industry in India, which is growing at the fastest rate. The focus on short-term growth and profit is very similar to the situation at Boeing that led to the 737 MAX crashes.
Honesty and Humility
This leads to another broader lesson for leadership in general: the importance of both honesty and humility. Honesty and humility are foundational to great leadership, as they build trust, foster open communication, and drive team success by encouraging authenticity, accountability, and continuous learning. Humble leaders admit mistakes and value others’ input, while honest leaders ensure transparency and ethical alignment, creating psychologically safe environments for innovation and growth. In essence, humble honesty creates a powerful dynamic where leaders are seen as authentic, supportive, and committed to the collective good, rather than just their own status, leading to more effective and ethical organisations.
Conclusion
In the end, the recurring situation of delays and cancellations in aviation is yet another example of the importance of shifting from an Industrial Age mindset of centralised control to a technology-enabled decentralised control and execution, towards achieving the adaptability and flexibility that are required to be competitive in the modern era. This incident should serve as a reminder to all organisations of the importance of decentralising their decision-making, providing the right tools and data to stakeholders, giving them adequate support, and approaching the ecosystem with honesty and humility.
Title Image Courtesy: ADDA247
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of India and the Defence Research and Studies. This opinion is written for strategic debate. It is intended to provoke critical thinking, not louder voices.
