IndiGo Assures No Flight Cancellations After Feb 10
DGCA Closely Monitoring Operations
New Delhi: Amid apprehensions of a reduction in flights from February, when IndiGo has to implement crew timing norms, the airline has assured the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of sufficient pilot availability for stable operations. The DGCA on Tuesday said it is closely monitoring IndiGo operations.
The DGCA said that during the review meeting on January 19, IndiGo reported adequate pilot availability against projected operational requirements after February 10. It assured operational stability and no flight cancellations after February 10, based on the current approved network, crew strength, and the removal of the two FDTL exemptions approved on December 6, 2025.
“The sustained regulatory oversight and corrective measures undertaken by IndiGo have resulted in stabilisation of operations and improvement in service reliability. The DGCA continues to closely monitor the airline’s operations, with particular emphasis on roster integrity, crew availability, buffer adequacy, system robustness, and adherence to FDTL requirements,” DGCA said.
The DGCA had on Saturday slapped a penalty of ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo for flight disruptions that caused immense inconvenience to passengers in December adding it was closely monitoring the airline's operations with "particular emphasis on roster integrity, crew availability, buffer adequacy, system robustness, and adherence to FDTL requirements". In the wake of the massive disruptions, DGCA had curtailed the airline's winter schedule by 10 per cent until February 10. Between December 3 and 5, the DGCA said, 2,507 flights were cancelled, and 1,852 flights were delayed, impacting over 3 lakh passengers at airports across the country.
On Tuesday, citing the airline's submissions, the DGCA said there were 2,400 pilots in command (PICs) as against the requirement for 2,280, and the number of first officers was 2,240 compared to the requirement for 2,050.
The watchdog mentioned that the disruptions stemmed from mismanagement of adequate flight crew, inadequate regulatory preparedness at the operator level, and shortcomings in system software support, management structure, and operational control.
"The airline's planning processes did not adequately identify operational deficiencies or maintain sufficient operational buffers. There was an overriding focus on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which led to reduced roster buffer margins.
"Crew rosters were designed to operate at the limits of permissible duty periods, with increased reliance on dead-heading, tail swaps, extended duty patterns, and minimal recovery margins. This approach compromised roster integrity and operational resilience and adversely impacted the effective implementation of the revised FDTL provisions," the DGCA said in a statement on Tuesday.
Following the disruptions last month, DGCA had deployed its officers at IndiGo's Operations Control Centre (OCC) and at key airports. From December 6 to 30, the regulator deployed two Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) along with passenger facilitation personnel. These teams oversaw day-to-day operations, monitored passenger handling and ensured regulatory compliance during the recovery phase.
Certain temporary operational exceptions were permitted strictly in the public interest to stabilise the system, without compromising safety, the statement said. To date, DGCA said IndiGo has submitted four weekly reports, three fortnightly reports, and has participated in weekly review meetings, providing updated data on all critical operational parameters.
