Why IndiGo Canceled 67 Flights Amid DGCA Scrutiny and Winter Fog Season

December 25, 2025 at 05:12 PM•2 min read

IndiGo canceled 67 flights across India on Thursday, primarily due to forecasted bad weather and ongoing operational issues under DGCA monitoring, affecting passenger travel.

Key Points

167 IndiGo flights were canceled on Thursday, December 25, 2025, with 63 due to forecasted bad weather (fog) and four due to operational issues.
2The cancellations occurred during the DGCA's official winter fog window (December 10 - February 10), requiring CAT-IIIB compliant operations.
3IndiGo is operating a reduced schedule, capped at 1,930 daily domestic flights, following mass cancellations in early December linked to new pilot rest regulations.

Domestic carrier IndiGo canceled 67 flights on Thursday across its network. The airline cited a mix of forecasted bad weather and operational reasons for the widespread disruption.

Of the total cancellations, 63 flights were attributed to low-visibility conditions. Only four flights were canceled due to internal operational issues, according to the airline’s website. Affected airports included Agartala, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Varanasi, and Bengaluru.

Context of IndiGo Flight Cancellations

This latest wave of IndiGo flight cancellations occurs during a period of intense regulatory scrutiny. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is actively monitoring the airline’s operations.

Winter Fog and Low-Visibility Operations

The DGCA has officially designated the period from December 10 to February 10 as the DGCA winter fog window. During this time, dense fog routinely challenges low-visibility operations across North and East Indian airports.

To manage this, DGCA mandates specific norms (CAT-IIIB). Airlines must use aircraft equipped with CAT-IIIB compliant aircraft technology. They must also roster pilots specially trained for these low-visibility conditions.

Category III-B systems allow aircraft to land safely. This is possible even when the runway visual range (RVR) drops below 50 meters.

Ongoing Operational Issues and Curtailed Schedule

The four cancellations due to airline operational issues highlight deeper, ongoing challenges. IndiGo is currently operating a curtailed flight schedule under government order.

This directive followed massive disruptions earlier in December. The airline canceled thousands of flights between December 1 and 9. This chaos was linked to poor planning and crew shortages. The issues arose while implementing new pilot rest regulations (Flight Duty Time Limitation or FDTL norms).

The new FDTL rules took effect on November 1.
The government cut IndiGo’s domestic capacity by 10%.
The airline is now capped at 1,930 domestic flights daily.

Impact on Indian Commercial Aviation

These repeated disruptions impact the entire Indian commercial aviation sector. They create significant IndiGo passenger disruption and financial strain. The situation underscores the tension between high utilization rates and safety standards.

Passengers are advised to check their flight status frequently. This is especially true when traveling to or from fog-prone airports. DGCA rules require airlines to offer a full refund or an alternate flight. This applies to cancellations or delays over two hours.

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