Why IndiGo's 10% Flight Cut Spared Delhi and Mumbai Hubs

Following a directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to stabilize operations, IndiGo has implemented a significant domestic flight curtailment.

This regulatory action came after a massive operational disruption. The chaos in early December 2025 saw thousands of flights cancelled. This was largely due to the airline's failure to adapt to new pilot rest norms FDTL regulations. The government ordered the carrier to cut its domestic schedule by 10 percent.

Schedule Rationalisation and Compliance

An analysis of the revised schedule shows a reduction of about 130 daily flights. This change impacts 94 different routes across the network. The reduction represents a 6.5 percent drop from the 2,008 domestic flights originally planned for December 29. However, sources confirm this is compliant with the DGCA's order. The 10 percent cut was applied to the approved Winter Schedule of 2,145 daily flights. This cap permits the airline to operate around 1,930 domestic flights daily. IndiGo's new schedule lists 1,878 domestic flights.

Experts suggest the airline schedule rationalisation focused on several factors. These include route demand, route length, and crew availability. The goal was to comply with the regulator while maintaining service on key routes. The airline did not comment on the data analysis.

Impact on Major Airports and Routes

Notably, the airline’s high-frequency domestic routes remain untouched. The top six busiest city-pairs saw no reduction in flight frequencies. These include the critical Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, and Mumbai-Bengaluru routes. Delhi, IndiGo's largest base, saw no flights dropped. Mumbai saw a reduction of only two flights.

However, the curtailment was spread across many other airports. Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows the impact on major hubs:

• Bengaluru airport flight reductions were the highest, with 52 flights dropped.
• Hyderabad followed with 34 fewer flights.
• Chennai saw 32 flights cut.
• Kolkata and Ahmedabad each had 22 flights dropped.

The analysis also shows that the IndiGo flight schedule cut heavily targeted short-distance routes. These are routes within the same state or between neighboring states. For example, the Chennai-Madurai and Madurai-Chennai routes saw the largest reduction of five flights each. Four routes, including Goa-Surat and Chennai-Durgapur, lost their sole IndiGo frequency for the day. Conversely, IndiGo added one flight each on four routes, including Delhi-Nagpur and Delhi-Hyderabad.

Industry Outlook and Stability

This DGCA domestic flight curtailment aims to improve the airline's operational stability. IndiGo's operations have now largely stabilized. The carrier is currently operating around 2,200 daily flights, including over 300 international flights. The international schedule was not affected by the DGCA order. The airline is expected to maintain this reduced capacity. This will last until the end of the current Winter Schedule in late March 2026. This period allows the airline to better align its schedules with the new pilot rest requirements. It is a critical step for the Indian commercial aviation news sector and passenger confidence. For more insights on global aviation trends, visit our commercial aviation news section at flying.flights.