The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has held a review meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and IndiGo’s top leadershi,p after the airline reported major disruptions across its network since late November 2025. The airline has been cancelling around 170-200 flights per day, far above normal levels.
During the meeting, the Minister criticised the manner in which the situation had been handled by the airline. He added that ample preparatory time had been available to ensure a seamless transition to the new regulatory requirements. The minister further directed the airline to urgently normalise operations and to ensure that there is no increase in airfares due to the current situation.
The Minister also instructed the airline to proactively inform passengers of any likely cancellations well in advance and to ensure that all necessary facilities, including hotel accommodation where required, are provided promptly to minimise inconvenience.
In a statement, DGCA said the airline explained the disruptions were caused mainly by transition issues in implementing the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), problems in crew planning, and winter operational challenges. The DGCA informed that IndiGo has admitted that it had underestimated the crew required for Phase-2 FDTL rules, which led to planning gaps.
The airline said cancellations may continue for the next few days as it works to stabilise schedules and will reduce flight operations from 8 December to minimise passenger inconvenience. It has also requested temporary relaxations from some FDTL provisions until 10 February 2026 to manage operations.
The DGCA also reviewed IndiGo’s crew requirement figures, noting a clear gap between required and available crew under the new norms, especially during night operations, which has worsened the disruption. The Aviation watchdog has also ordered its regional offices to conduct real-time inspections at major airports. It has also issued several directions to IndiGo, including submitting a detailed roadmap for crew recruitment, training, and safety planning and providing an immediate mitigation plan to reduce disruptions.
