India’s civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), was forced on Friday, December 5, to roll back parts of its recently updated pilot duty and leave regulations after IndiGo’s persistent operational disruptions triggered days of widespread flight cancellations.
The fourth straight day of turmoil began with IndiGo cancelling all departures from Delhi on Thursday morning, intensifying an already chaotic week for passengers. By afternoon, the DGCA announced that it was temporarily withdrawing the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms that had been in place since November 1, calling the reversal a “temporary one time extension”.
Under the revised FDTL rules, the DGCA withdrew a provision stating that “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”. The original rule was designed to prevent airlines from counting leave as weekly rest , a safeguard introduced to reduce pilot fatigue and enhance safety.
IndiGo, which carries the bulk of India’s domestic air traffic, has been grappling with ongoing staffing shortages. As a result, the impact of its cancellations quickly escalated after December 2. Other airlines, including Air India and Akasa Air, reported only minor issues, largely due to their smaller networks.
Over the course of four days, IndiGo’s cumulative cancellations exceeded 1,000 flights, affecting major metros such as Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, as well as several tier-2 and tier-3 cities including Patna, Chandigarh, and Bodh Gaya.
For passengers at many airports, the situation was chaotic. Some had already checked in their luggage before their
flights were abruptly cancelled, forcing them to wait hours to retrieve their bags. In one case highlighted by a television channel, a passenger said she returned home after being informed her flight was cancelled, only to later receive a call from the boarding gate urging her to board immediately.
The disruptions had cascading consequences beyond travel plans, many passengers were headed to weddings or family gatherings during the peak holiday and marriage season.
Late on December 4, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said he had “reviewed” IndiGo’s operations, posting: “I have instructed the DGCA and concerned officials at the Ministry to keep a close watch on the network and directed Indigo to normalize the operations at the earliest.”
The DGCA also issued an appeal to pilot unions. In a letter, DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai wrote that the aviation sector is under “significant strain” and warned that operational pressures will intensify.
