Why IndiGo Vacated 717 Domestic Slots After DGCA Curtailed Winter Flights

India's largest airline, IndiGo, has vacated 717 slots at domestic airports. This action follows the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directive to curtail the airline's winter schedule by 10 per cent. The reduction was a direct response to widespread operational disruptions in early December 2025.

Background on Regulatory Action

Between December 3 and 5 last year, IndiGo faced a major operational meltdown. The airline cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed 1,852 flights. This affected over 3 lakh passengers across the country. The DGCA's inquiry found the disruptions stemmed from several key issues. These included over-optimisation of operations and inadequate regulatory preparedness. There were also deficiencies in system software and operational control.

To enforce systemic correction, the DGCA took severe action. On January 17, 2026, the regulator announced fines totaling ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo. The airline was also directed to furnish a ₹50 crore bank guarantee. The DGCA also warned CEO Pieter Elbers and other senior executives for the lapses. The 10% schedule reduction was aimed at ensuring greater operational stability. It lowered IndiGo’s daily domestic flights from 2,144 to 1,930.

Details of Vacated Slots

IndiGo submitted a list of the 717 vacated slots to the Civil Aviation Ministry. A slot is a specific time period for an aircraft's takeoff or landing. Out of the total, 364 slots are from six major metro airports. These include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Most of the vacated slots are concentrated in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

The slots are available for the remainder of the winter schedule, which spans January through March. The distribution is heavily weighted toward the beginning and end of this period. There are 361 vacated slots for January, 43 for February, and 361 for March.

Industry Response and Redistribution Challenges

The Civil Aviation Ministry has initiated the flight slot redistribution process. A committee met on January 13 to discuss the principles for reallocation. The ministry has asked other airlines to submit their requests and preferences.

Key conditions for interested airlines include:

• Airlines must deploy additional aircraft and crew to use the slots.
• They must not discontinue existing routes to utilize the vacated slots.

However, the short-term nature of the slot availability presents a challenge. Industry executives note that the slots are only guaranteed until the end of March. This short window makes network planning and launching new routes commercially unviable for rival carriers. Furthermore, many of the vacated slots are for red-eye flights, which operate late at night or in the early morning. These times are generally less desirable for network expansion. The final decision on redistribution rests with the concerned airport operators.

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