Stranded passengers search for their luggage near a counter after IndiGo cancelled more than 400 flights, at the Kempegowda International Airport, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on December 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday (December 5, 2025) cleared IndiGo’s plea for exemption from night-duty limits for pilots. This comes as the airline faces continued disruptions in its operations with large scale flight cancellations — over 400 on Friday — leaving many passengers stranded for as long as three days at airports.
The country’s largest airline, which generally operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, is now cancelling flights as part of efforts to tackle disruptions, primarily triggered by crew woes.
IndiGo’s on-time performance plummeted to 8.5% on Thursday, with worsening operational disruptions impacting flight schedules.
Top IndiGo officials had met Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and Faiz Kidwai, head of the DGCA on Thursday and informed them that the widespread flight disruptions were due to “misjudgement and planning gaps” in implementing the set of norms governing rest and duty for pilots from November 1, primarily those on restricting night flying.
The airline accepted that the actual crew requirement exceeded the numbers they had anticipated.
Indian pilot duty rules, announced last year and which went into effect on November 1, increased the amount of mandatory rest per week for pilots by 12 hours to 48 hours. In addition, pilots are now only allowed to make two night-time landings per week, down from six under the old rules.
Friday’s exemption allows IndiGo to be exempt from the night-duty rule until February 10.
DGCA eases other flight duty norms for pilots
DGCA also eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo.
As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”, which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.
Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision ‘no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest’ from the FDTL norms.
“In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision,” DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)
Published – December 05, 2025 02:01 pm IST
