'Heads must roll, enough material available': Ex-aviation expert urges Centre to act in scathing open letter on IndiGo

IndiGo's ongoing operational turmoil has now triggered a sharp public criticism from one of Indian aviation's senior professionals. Former aviation veteran Shakti Lumba has released a blistering open letter alleging a "toxic culture" inside IndiGo, saying the airline's management fostered fear, overwork and arrogance long before the current crisis. The airline cancelled more than 1,600 flight on Friday alone.

Sharing the letter on X, Lumba wrote, "The open letter posted below in not an employee's grumble. It’s a cry for help. It highlights how and why IndiGo meltdown took place: The toxic culture of the Airline Management the harassment and demeaning of ALL employees whatever their department and the Management attitude ‘We are too Big to fail’…Heads must roll, @MoCA_GoI @DGCAIndia @RamMNK enough material for your high-level Inquiry."

The letter describes years of internal warning signs, alleging worker fatigue, intimidation, and a leadership that dismissed concerns even as the airline expanded aggressively. It arrives at a moment when IndiGo is struggling to restore operations after severe disruptions triggered by the second phase of new flight duty and rest rules for pilots. The airline said it operated "a little above 700 flights" on Friday, against its usual 2,300, and confirmed it had cancelled "a significant number of flights."

"Nothing happened overnight — we all saw it coming"

The letter opens with the line: "I am writing this not as a spokesperson, not as someone hiding behind corporate language, but as an IndiGo employee who has lived through every shift, every sleepless night, every humiliation, every squeezed pay cheque, and every impossible roster."

It argues that the airline's collapse was long in the making: "IndiGo didn't collapse in a day. This downfall was years in the making. Pride turned into arrogance, and growth turned into greed. The attitude became: 'We are too big to fail.'"

The former captain alleges that employees repeatedly warned leadership but were dismissed, even as IndiGo expanded and squeezed competition. "Does someone remember how they hounded Akasa Air on there launch sectors by deploying over capacity...they did that in part with every other airline. Everyone saw it—passengers, employees, the government. But we all looked away and now we blame this to monopoly."

A culture of "humiliation" and "fear"

A major portion of the letter focuses on alleged internal behaviour within the management: "The real rot started when titles became more important than talent. People who couldn't even draft a proper email were becoming VPs—because being a VP meant access to ESOPs and power."

It describes pilots being shouted at for raising fatigue concerns, ground staff earning Rs 16,000–18,000 running between aircraft, engineers juggling multiple planes, and cabin crew "crying in the galley" while maintaining composure in front of passengers. 

"Pilots raised concerns about fatigue and unsafe duty timings. Instead of being heard, some were called to the head office, intimidated, shouted at, and humiliated," Lumba claimed. 

One line reads: "And the messaging from the top? 'You're lucky to have a job.' Or worse: 'Beggars can’t be choosers.' Imagine hearing that from one of your so-called undeserving VP."

The letter also levels criticism at the regulatory ecosystem, alleging delayed licence validations and a lack of representation when fatigue rules changed. "When fatigue rules changed in ways that made our schedules even more brutal, there was no representation, no union strong enough to stand up, and no regulator who pushed back."

Personal accounts of exhaustion

Lumba insists IndiGo's workforce has been "broken for years." "We warned them. We watched the system crack. We watched our colleagues quit or burn out. We watched leadership fly in and out of Europe while we silently prayed for one extra hour of rest."

The letter says employees are deeply hurt by public mockery of Indian aviation: "When I travelled recently, people joked, 'Indians can't even run one stable airline?’ It hurts because it’s not the Indian workforce failing you. It’s the Management mostly foreigners."

A direct attack on leadership

In a rare move, the letter names several senior managers who, the author believed, were behind the crisis. "And being an insider I'll call names. It starts with (IndiGO CEO) Peter Elbers, who was holidaying at his native Netherlands when this wildfire happened," Lumba alleged. 

Call for intervention: 'We need action'

The veteran aviation professional urges the government to impose structural reforms: "I beg the government—yes, beg—to: Set minimum wages for ground staff, enforce minimum manpower per aircraft, revisit fatigue rules with employee representation, penalise operational negligence that affects lakhs of passengers."

He said IndiGo will not collapse from paying its employees fairly. "But it will collapse if it continues treating them like they don’t matter," he said, adding that this airline became great because of its people - pilots, engineers, ground staff, cabin crew, "and those people are pleading for help. Let this be a turning point."