New Delhi | December 6, 2025: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is in the middle of one of the biggest operational crises in Indian aviation, with more than 1,600 flights cancelled in just four days and fresh cancellations continuing on Saturday.
On Saturday alone, IndiGo said it had cancelled around 850 flights, a slight improvement from the previous day but still enough to keep airports crowded with stranded passengers across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other major cities.
The airline claims it is now operating about 1,500 flights a day and has restored around 95 percent of its network, but acknowledges that full normalcy will take a few more days.
What Triggered The Crisis
The disruption began after the second phase of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for pilots came into full effect on November 1, 2025. These rules were updated in January 2024 and then rolled out in phases to reduce pilot fatigue and improve safety.
Key changes include:
- Weekly rest for pilots increased from 36 hours to 48 hours
- Stricter limits on night landings and night duty hours
- Tighter caps on overall flight duty time
According to the aviation regulator DGCA, IndiGo told officials that its crew planning and rostering were not adequately prepared for Phase II of the new norms, which led to a shortage of available pilots and a cascading wave of cancellations.
Editorials and industry commentators point out that airlines had nearly two years to prepare for the final rollout of these rules. Several reports note that IndiGo continued with a lean manpower strategy instead of ramping up pilot strength, despite knowing the higher rest and lower duty limits were coming.
Government Steps In: Exemptions, Fare Caps, Extra Trains
With thousands of passengers stranded and social media flooded with complaints, the Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered a high level inquiry into the disruption and IndiGo’s handling of the transition.
To stabilise operations, the DGCA has granted IndiGo temporary exemptions from some of the new fatigue rules. The cap on night landings and a stricter definition of “night” have been relaxed for IndiGo until February 10, and separate reports say limited relief for its A320 fleet may extend till February 2026, subject to a clear roadmap to fix crew gaps.
The regulator has also withdrawn a provision that said leave could not be substituted for weekly rest, which had made rostering even tighter for all airlines.
On the passenger side, the government has:
- Capped air fares on affected routes and instructed all airlines to follow the prescribed ceiling during the crisis
- Directed IndiGo to clear pending refunds and offer full waiver on cancellation and rescheduling fees for travel between 5 and 15 December
- Coordinated with Indian Railways, which has added over 100 extra coaches to premium trains to absorb some of the stranded air travellers
Minister Blames “Mismanagement”, Unions See “Selective Relief”
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has publicly blamed IndiGo’s mismanagement and poor rostering for the chaos, noting that other airlines operating under the same FDTL rules have not collapsed in a similar way.
Pilot bodies, on the other hand, are angry that the regulator has rolled back some fatigue protections primarily to accommodate IndiGo.
- ALPA India wrote to the DGCA calling the dispensations “selective” and commercially driven, and warning that they risk undermining the very safety objectives of the FDTL reforms.
- The Federation of Indian Pilots went further, accusing IndiGo of “arm twisting” the regulator after failing to prepare despite a two year window, and criticising hiring freezes and non poaching arrangements that limited pilot availability.
These reactions have fuelled a wider debate on whether regulatory relief in the middle of a crisis rewards poor planning and sends the wrong signal on safety.
IndiGo’s Response And What Passengers Should Expect
IndiGo has apologised to passengers and described this as an “operational reboot” period. The airline says it has:
Arranged thousands of hotel rooms and surface transport for stranded customers
- Provided food and snacks at airports and lounge access for senior citizens where possible
- Started automatic refunds to the original mode of payment for cancelled flights and waived fees for rebooking within the affected travel window
The airline has also urged customers not to go to the airport if their flight is shown as cancelled and to rely on app or website updates instead. IndiGo and the government expect flight schedules to stabilise between December 10 and 15, although experts say crew availability and winter weather could still cause disruptions.
For now, passengers are being advised to:
- Check flight status repeatedly before heading to the airport
- Prefer refundable or flexible fares on IndiGo and other carriers
- Keep rail travel and alternate routings in mind for time sensitive journeys
