Govt doubles flight cuts for IndiGo as nationwide disruptions spiral

The government on December 9 ordered IndiGo to slash its flight schedule by 10% — double the curtailment earlier mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — as the country’s largest airline continues to grapple with a network meltdown triggered by crew shortages and poor rostering.

The decision, conveyed to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers at a meeting called by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), marks the toughest intervention yet in the crisis that has forced daily mass cancellations since mid-last week.

With IndiGo operating over 2,300 flights a day — roughly 2,150 of them domestic — the new cut will push its domestic operations below 1,950 flights. Officials indicated that freed-up slots may be reassigned to other carriers able to deploy capacity.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the airline’s routes must be trimmed to “stabilise operations” and reduce cancellations. He said Elbers had been “summoned” to explain IndiGo’s recovery plan after days of severe passenger inconvenience caused by “internal mismanagement” of crew rosters, schedules and communication.

The minister added that IndiGo has completed refunds for all flights affected until December 6 and has been directed to speed up remaining refunds and baggage clearance.

Earlier on Tuesday, IndiGo claimed it had “stabilised and normalised” operations, reporting over 1,800 flights flown and on-time performance back above 80%. It expected to operate around 1,900 flights on December 10 and to gradually rebuild its schedule. The government’s 10 per cent cap, however, now forces a fresh recalibration.

The DGCA had first ordered a 5% curtailment — around 110–115 daily flights — concentrated on high-demand routes, and asked IndiGo to submit a revised schedule by December 10 evening. After MoCA’s directive, the regulator amended its order to reflect a full 10 per cent cut and signalled that further rationalisation remains possible.

IndiGo’s winter schedule had expanded to 15,014 domestic flights per week, up from 14,158 in summer — an increase that pilot bodies and aviation experts had criticised given the impending rollout of new crew rest norms. The second phase of the updated Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, in effect since November 1, mandated longer pilot rest periods and fewer late-night duties.

IndiGo entered the phase underprepared, triggering widespread cancellations and delays across November. The airline reported 1,232 cancelations that month, 755 linked directly to crew and FDTL-related constraints.

Internal reviews acknowledged “misjudgement and planning gaps” in estimating pilot requirements under the new norms. As disruptions escalated nationwide, the DGCA last week granted IndiGo a temporary exemption from some night-flying restrictions for A320 pilots until February 10, along with a set of additional short-term relaxations to help stabilise operations.

Even so, the government and regulator have tightened scrutiny. A DGCA panel has begun investigating the disruption, and show-cause notices have been issued to CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras.

The civil aviation minister has blamed operational lapses at IndiGo and warned of “strict action” once the inquiry report is finalised, saying airlines had ample notice of the FDTL transition.

In its response to the regulator, IndiGo said the complexities of its operation make it “unrealistic” to pinpoint a single cause for the collapse but cited a combination of minor technical issues, winter schedule transitions, weather disruptions, system congestion and the implementation of new rostering rules. The DGCA said it is evaluating the carrier’s explanations and will take action “as deemed appropriate”.