IndiGo Cancels Hundreds of Flights, Regulator Grants One Time Relief
India’s largest carrier is canceling hundreds of flights for a fourth consecutive day as new pilot duty and rest regulations expose roster gaps and staffing shortfalls, triggering passenger protests and long airport queues. Regulators have granted limited exemptions while demanding a 30 day operational roadmap and fortnightly progress reports, a move that highlights tensions between safety rules and service continuity.
IndiGo is canceling hundreds of flights on Thursday, marking a fourth day of widespread timetable disruptions after the airline struggled to align pilot rosters with recently implemented duty and rest rules. Delhi operations have been particularly hard hit, with passengers staging protests and long queues forming as travelers wait for rebooking and refunds.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has intervened by granting a one time exemption from certain night duty provisions for IndiGo’s A320 fleet and by withdrawing a rule that barred substitution of leave for weekly rest. The DGCA said the measures are intended to stabilise operations while IndiGo prepares a 30 day roadmap and submits fortnightly progress reports on crew rosters and staffing levels. The airline told the regulator it expects full restoration of operations by February 10, 2026.
Industry officials and unions say the crisis stems from the interaction of new regulatory duty limits and the carrier’s current crew schedules, exposing gaps that were not apparent under prior rostering practices. Unions have criticized the selective nature of the exemptions and warned that allowing exceptions to rest rules risks undermining safety standards. Regulators argue the temporary measures are carefully targeted and conditional on operational transparency from the airline.
Passengers have borne the immediate cost. At Delhi’s main airport, long queues and on the tarmac protests forced airport authorities to deploy extra staff to manage crowds and reroute flights where possible. Travel demand in early December is typically elevated for holidays and business travel, compounding the economic impact of cancelled services. For consumers, cancellations mean disrupted itineraries and additional expenses for accommodation and alternative travel, while IndiGo faces mounting operational and reputational costs.
The disruptions also create near term financial exposure for the carrier. Reduced capacity will hit revenue in the critical quarter, and the need to rebook, refund, and compensate passengers will raise operating expenses. Market investors and lenders will be watching IndiGo’s ability to execute its recovery plan, particularly as the DGCA requires regular reporting and a timetable for full restoration.
More broadly, the episode highlights a structural challenge in aviation as regulators tighten fatigue and rest rules in the wake of safety concerns. Airlines with tightly optimized rosters and limited spare crew are vulnerable to sudden rule changes or to shocks that reveal fragile staffing buffers. For India’s fast growing aviation market, the balance between enforcing stricter safety standards and maintaining reliable service will be central to policy debates in the months ahead.
How IndiGo addresses the DGCA’s roadmap requirement, and whether the regulator will allow further operational flexibility, will determine how quickly normal schedules return. The crisis underscores that in aviation, regulatory change, labor capacity, and operational resilience must move together to prevent cascade failures that harm passengers and the broader economy.
