IndiGo cancels 5,000 flights due to pilot shortage amid new Indian DGCA rest
Key Points
- 1IndiGo has cancelled nearly 5,000 flights since December 5, severely disrupting India's air travel due to a critical pilot shortage.
- 2The crisis stems from IndiGo's failure to meet new Indian DGCA Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) increasing pilot weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours.
- 3The Indian DGCA granted a temporary FDTL exemption to IndiGo until February 10, 2026, while ordering a high-level inquiry into the operational issues.
- 4Despite the exemption, IndiGo continued to cancel over 300 flights on Monday, with full recovery expected between December 10-15.
India's largest carrier, IndiGo, has cancelled nearly 5,000 flights since December 5, causing significant disruption across the nation's air travel network. The widespread grounding of a substantial portion of its fleet resulted from the airline's inability to comply with updated pilot rest and duty requirements, known as Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), introduced by the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last year. These new regulations increased weekly pilot rest from 36 to 48 hours, with airlines mandated to comply by November 1.
In response to the escalating crisis, the Indian DGCA granted IndiGo a temporary exemption from the new FDTL rules until February 10, 2026, aiming to stabilize operations. Despite this regulatory relaxation, the airline continued to cancel over 300 flights on a single day, indicating the depth of the pilot shortage. The Federation of Indian Pilots criticized IndiGo's management, alleging a freeze on both hiring and pilot pay, which exacerbated the staffing issues. A high-level inquiry has been ordered by the Indian government to investigate the root causes of the operational meltdown. IndiGo anticipates returning to normal operations between December 10 and 15.
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