IndiGo warns of further flight cancellations as it requests pilot-duty exceptions until Feb 10, 2026 [Photo: X]
When IndiGo admitted it had mis-calculated pilot needs after new duty-time rules, thousands of passengers across India felt the impact. The airline now says more flights may be cancelled over the next two to three days. It has asked regulators for temporary relief and pledged full recovery by February 10, 2026.
From November 1, airlines had to follow tougher Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms meant to curb pilot fatigue and ensure safety. After the new Phase-2 norms kicked in, IndiGo says the number of pilots required rose sharply. The carrier claims it underestimated this jump and failed to hire enough crew in time.
As a result, night-time flights, especially those using Airbus A320S, faced serious crew shortages. IndiGo asked for a temporary exemption from some FDTL provisions, including night-duty definitions and night-landing caps.
In November alone, the airline cancelled 1,232 flights, over 750 of them because of crew/FDTL constraints. On-time performance slipped from 84.1 % in October to 67.7 % in November. On December 4, more than 175 flights were cancelled as chaos spread across airports, especially Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
The disruption caused massive passenger inconvenience — stranded travellers, crowded terminals, delayed or cancelled flights, and a breakdown in IndiGo’s usual punctuality.
IndiGo has told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it expects to stabilise operations by February 10, 2026. The airline will scale down flight operations starting December 8 to manage crew shortages more effectively.
DGCA has demanded a detailed “crew recruitment and aircraft-induction roadmap,” fortnightly status reports, and a plan for improved scheduling and passenger-handling at all major airports.
