IndiGo did not shut down; it simply behaved like a Jaspal Bhatti episode that forgot to end with laughter.
In Bhatti’s 1990s skit ‘S.O.S Airlines’, he is a baggage handler, a reservation clerk, a check-in guy, and a pilot. He keeps changing shirts and reappearing, a one-man airline with bad tailoring and worse planning.
Complaint desk comedy
A passenger, tired of seeing the same face everywhere, goes to file a complaint.
He finds Bhatti at the complaints desk, wearing a new shirt and still smiling, asking him to fill out a pointless form. Nothing captures India better than a system where the accused also accepts your complaint.
Shortage explained
Bhatti’s airline operates on a novel policy: ‘Pilot available only after ground duties’. He sends the passenger from one counter to another, not because the process requires it, but because he must change uniforms before the next flight.
He is understaffed, overworked, and gloriously unbothered – the ideal employee of a badly run organisation. His explanation is brutal: ‘SOS Airlines’ stands for ‘Shortage of Staff Airlines’.
The punchline is predictable and perfect.
He rushes away to change, because he also has to fly the plane.
The real-world detour
Fast-forward to December 2025. IndiGo’s schedule falls apart. Scores of flights cancelled, hours of delays, packed terminals, fragile tempers, and industrial-scale resentment.. Passengers see holiday plans, weddings, and meetings go awry at boarding gates.
Late-night flights vanish without explanation. Morning flights sink into missed connections. Frustrated travellers hunt for alternatives, children cry, laptops churn out reschedules, and the public address system drones in apology.
India’s favourite corporate strategy remains unchanged: appear blindsided by predictable outcomes, invoke unforeseeable circumstances, and trust that citizens lack both memory and civil rights in transit.
Memes write the script
When a caption with Bhatti’s skit said ‘He visualised today’s IndiGo crisis years ago’, it sounded less like a joke and more like a prophecy.
Another meme renamed the airline ‘Itdidn’tGo’. Stranded travellers thought it was the most accurate update in aviation history.
Bhatti’s parody was not fiction. It was a rehearsal – filmed cheaply, delivered plainly, and ignored deliberately. IndiGo kept the script. Only the take-off was outsourced to fate.
