‘₹18,000 pay, work of three’: IndiGo employee’s viral letter exposes crisis inside airline

In a rare and scathing public outcry, an IndiGo employee has penned an explosive open letter addressed to fellow citizens and the airline’s top management, laying bare years of internal decay, unchecked arrogance, and an employee crisis that the writer claims has been “years in the making.” 

Circulating widely on social media, the letter shared offers a raw, first-hand account of what the author describes as a slow but steady collapse of India’s biggest airline — one that did not happen overnight but unfolded across years of ignored warnings, deteriorating work conditions and a culture of fear. 

'Nothing happened overnight' 

The writer, identifying as a long-time IndiGo employee, reflects on the airline’s early days in 2006, when teams felt proud of what they were building. But that pride, the letter claims, “turned into arrogance, and growth turned into greed,” with a new internal attitude taking root: We are too big to fail. 

The letter alleges that IndiGo aggressively oversupplied certain routes to choke competition, impacting newer airlines like Akasa Air. While passengers celebrated IndiGo’s punctuality and market dominance, the author claims it came at the cost of staff welfare and operational sanity.

'Titles became more important' 

A significant portion of the letter highlights what the writer calls an unhealthy explosion of hierarchy. Individuals “who couldn’t even draft a proper email” started rising to vice-president level, the author alleges — primarily because such positions unlocked ESOPs and influence. 

Employees, including pilots, engineers and ground staff, were reportedly “squeezed” to justify the growing layers of leadership. Pilots raising concerns about unsafe duty times, fatigue and operational pressures were allegedly shouted at, intimidated or humiliated — sometimes by senior management at the head office. 

“No consequences. No accountability. Just fear,” the letter states. 

Ground staff earning as little as ₹16,000-18,000 a month were said to be stretched to extreme limits — running rapidly across aircraft, juggling multiple tasks, and performing the work of “three people.” 

'We are running on empty' 

The letter paints a picture of a workforce emotionally exhausted and physically drained. Cabin crew reportedly cried in the galley between greeting passengers. Engineers, the writer claims, were multitasking across aircraft with barely any oversight or rest.

Even the way passengers were addressed underwent an internal shift, the letter claims. Employees were instructed to call passengers “customers” instead. The reason: “If you call them passengers, they’ll think they own the airline.” The employee argues that this mindset change reflected a deeper detachment from those who actually trust IndiGo with their lives. 

'We felt alone. Always alone' 

The letter reserves sharp criticism for India’s aviation regulator as well. 

According to the author, licence validations for pilots seeking to move abroad were deliberately delayed, with whispers of “unofficial prices” circulating for faster processing. When fatigue rules evolved in ways that worsened schedules, the writer says workers had no union, no representation, and no watchdog strong enough to intervene.  

The airline’s massive expansion, record profits, and industry dominance stand in stark contrast to what the writer describes as an employee base pushed to the brink. 

The crisis consumers see today — flight disruptions, delays, and staff shortages — is merely the final outcome of years of systemic stress, the author argues. 

“We have been broken for years,” the letter concludes. “We watched the system crack while leadership flew in and out of Europe as we prayed for one extra hour of rest.” 

While IndiGo has not yet issued a statement responding to the viral letter, the post has sparked a wave of discussions within aviation circles and among passengers who say their recent travel experiences mirror the frustrations described.