IndiGo Crisis: DGCA Grants One-Time Exemption On Flight Duty Norms Till February

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday granted a one time exemption on specific requirements of new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules for pilots to IndiGo till Feb. 10, 2026.

The exemption has been granted solely to facilitate operational stabilisation and does not amounts to dilution of safety requirements, the regulator said in a statement.

During this period, DGCA will review after every fifteen days, the action taken by the airline to address the situation including hiring of adequate crew to ensure FDTL compliance.

Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu held a high level review meeting with ministry officials and IndiGo senior management and instructed the company to urgently normalise operations and ensure that minimum inconvenience is caused to the passengers.

DGCA has issued further relaxations to IndiGo to enable pilots who have been deployed elsewhere or are under Designated Examiner (DE) refresher training and standardisation checks to be used for flying duties till February.

Currently, DGCA has 12 FOIs on deputation from IndiGo. These FOIs have been allowed to take up flying duties to facilitate Indigo pilot scheduling for a week. All these pilots are Airbus A320 type rated and hold valid licenses.

The regulator has deployed its team at IndiGo’s operational control centers for real time monitoring of flight operations regarding delays/cancellation, passenger facilitation etc. In addition, teams from DGCA regional offices are monitoring the situation at the airports.

The regulator has constituted a four member committee headed by a Joint Director General for comprehensive review and assessment of the crisis this week. The committee will also identify accountabilities and responsibilities for failure and adequacy of subsequent mitigation measures being taken by IndiGo, the statement said.