How IndiGo Created 'Complete Chaos', Aviation Expert Explains

Aviation expert, Subhash Goyal on Friday blames domestic carrier IndiGo's mass flight cancellations on its non-compliance with DGCA's revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.

The new rules mandated 48 hours of weekly pilot rest, up from 36 hours, introduced over a year ago to enhance safety per international standards and court directives.

Goyal says, "To make air travel safer, pilots were demanding more rest hours in line with international regulations. Therefore, the DGCA issued new regulations, following court orders. All airlines were instructed more than a year ago to recruit more pilots and staff and prepare for the new regulations. Airlines like Akasa, SpiceJet, Air India, and Air India Express all complied. However, IndiGo not only disobeyed the regulations but also expanded its international route network and increased domestic flights without increasing crew and pilots. As a result, when the government wanted to enforce the policy deadline, IndiGo, instead of reducing some of its flights, grounded most of its flights... It created complete chaos..."

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IndiGo expanded domestic and international routes without hiring enough pilots, unlike compliant airlines such as Air India and SpiceJet and this led to over 1,000 cancellations on December 5, 2025, disrupting airports and stranding passengers, as confirmed by DGCA reports.

A meeting was convened by the Ministry of Civil Aviation with ALPA India and other pilot associations on December 5, and decided to place the implementation of the revised FDTL CAR in abeyance.

It stated that keeping the FDTL in abeyance not only undermines judicial authority but also heightens the risk to pilots and passengers by delaying essential fatigue protections.

It should be noted that IndiGo was the first carrier to oppose the new FDTL norms for pilots when they were introduced in January 2024, with a March implementation timeline.

It had been argued that the airlines require more time to put in place due to additional crew requirements. The latest FDTL norms, which entail increased weekly rest periods to 48 hours, extended night hours, and limiting the number of night landings to only two, as against six earlier, were initially also opposed by domestic airlines, including IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India.

But they were subsequently rolled out by the DGCA following the Delhi High Court's directives, albeit with a delay of over one year, in a phased manner, and with certain variations for airlines like IndiGo and Air India.

While the first phase of these FDTL norms came into force in July, the second phase, which reduced the number of night landings from six to two earlier, was implemented from November 1.

The norms were originally to be put in place in March 2024.

- (with inputs from PTI)