IndiGo Flights Cancellations: Submit Roadmap For Crew Recruitment, Roster Restructuring, DGCA Tells Airline

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation directed IndiGo on Thursday to immediately submit a comprehensive roadmap for projected crew recruitment and a detailed plan for roster restructuring amid its severely disrupted network.

This stance comes after the airline acknowledged "misjudgment and planning gaps" in implementing the revised flight duty time limitations, which resulted in a massive spike of hundreds of daily flight cancellations.

The regulatory action was taken following a detailed review meeting chaired by the director general, which also included the civil aviation minister and senior MoCA officials.

To manage the immediate crisis, IndiGo has requested specific operational variations or exemptions from FDTL provisions up to Feb. 10, 2026, according to a release from the aviation regulator.

The airline has assured the DGCA that normalised operations will be fully restored by Feb. 10, 2026, but also admitted that more cancellations would continue for the next two to three days. To minimise future disruption, IndiGo plans to reduce its flight operations from Dec. 8.

In response, the DGCA has mandated several strict actions from the airline, including submission of a detailed roadmap for crew recruitment against aircraft induction. The airline needs to also immediately submit plans for crew training, roster restructuring, and safety-risk assessments.

IndiGo has also been directed to provide an outline of immediate steps to stabilise the current operations and reduce cancellations. The mandatory submission of fortnightly progress reports detailing operational improvements and roster stability are also required from the airline.

The DGCA teams conducted real-time field inspections, observing that passenger-handling manpower at Delhi Airport Terminal 1 was inadequate to manage the crisis.

IndiGo has been urgently instructed to increase manpower and strengthen passenger support services at all affected terminals. The DGCA will maintain strict, real-time monitoring of IndiGo’s performance throughout the recovery period.

The minister instructed the DGCA to closely monitor airfares during the ongoing disruptions and directed the Airports Authority of India to ensure full support is provided to stranded passengers.

IndiGo’s submissions confirmed that the primary issue was a transitional challenge in roster planning and crew availability under Phase-2 FDTL requirements, which took effect on Nov. 1.

The airline admitted that the actual crew requirement exceeded their anticipation. Data presented showed a shortfall, with crew availability for Airbus operations in December 2025 being 2,357, significantly below the required 2,422 under the new norms. The increase in night-time duty share further compounded this crew constraint.