Following one of the greatest flight disruptions the nation has witnessed in recent years due to the airline’s disregard for new pilot rest regulations, the government threatened to take “very strict action” against IndiGo. The biggest airline in India, IndiGo, has gradually started operating again, with almost 1,800 flights on Monday as opposed to 1,650 on Sunday. On December 5, however, almost two-thirds of its 2,300 daily flights were canceled, leaving thousands of people stranded at several airports.
The airline’s senior management have already received show-cause notices from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which has also established a four-person investigation panel. In their responses to the regulator on Monday, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras expressed remorse for the significant disruption that passengers had to endure. According to officials, the investigation will look at IndiGo’s rostering system, manpower planning, and readiness for the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations, which limit the number of permitted landings in a 24-hour period and classify all duties performed between midnight and six in the morning as night duty.
These regulations, which were introduced over a year ago with the goal of lessening pilot fatigue, caused IndiGo to have a pilot shortage as a result of insufficient hiring. In an effort to stabilize operations, the government has temporarily loosened the new regulations until February 10, 2026. Ram Mohan Naidu, the minister of civil aviation, informed Parliament that the investigation will address responsibility and guarantee that similar interruptions don’t happen again.
