The Supreme Court on Monday (December 8, 2025) refused to accord urgent hearing to a plea seeking judicial intervention into cancellation of hundreds of flights by IndiGo, saying the Centre has taken note of the situation and has taken steps to address it.

The Supreme Court said it was cognizant of the fact that lakhs of people are stranded at various airports.

“It is a serious matter. Lakhs of people are stranded at the airports. We know that the government of India has taken timely action and cognizance of the issue. We know people may have health issues and other important issues etc.,” Chief Justice Surya Kant, who was heading a Bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said.

A lawyer mentioned the issue and said there have been a lot of flight cancellations by IndiGo over the last few days and passengers are suffering.

“The cancellations are not informed to the flyers,” he said, adding that around 2,500 flights are delayed and customers are suffering at 95 airports across the country.

Over 250 IndiGo flights from Delhi and Bengaluru airports were cancelled on Monday (December 8, 2025) as the disruptions of the airline’s flight operations entered the seventh day, sources told PTI.

At the Delhi airport, 134 flights were cancelled — 75 departures and 59 arrivals — while at the Bengaluru airport, the carrier cancelled 117 services — 65 arrivals and 62 departures.

IndiGo has been facing heat from both the government and the passengers for cancelling hundreds of flights since December 2, citing regulatory changes in the pilots’ flight duty and regulations norms. The disruptions have left lakhs of passengers stranded at airports across the country.

IndiGo cancelled more than 1,000 flights on Friday (December 5, 2025) and will axe hundreds more on Saturday (December 6, 2025), crippling air travel across India and sending airfares skyrocketing, which prompted the government to exempt the country’s largest airline from meeting new rules until February 10.

The airline suspended all departures from the Delhi airport for the entire day to reboot its systems and stop cascading delays. It cancelled all its domestic flights from Chennai airport and all flights from Bengaluru to Delhi and Mumbai for the entire day.

“Cancellations were made today to align our aircraft and crew to be where they need to be to start tomorrow morning afresh. Measures of the last few days have regrettably proven to be not enough. We have decided today for a reboot of all our systems and schedules,” IndiGo’s chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers said in a recorded video message. He added that cancellations on Saturday (December 5, 2025) were expected to be “below 1,000”.

The size and scale of IndiGo’s operations meant normalcy is expected only between December 10 and 15, according to the CEO. The airline operates a total of 2,200 flights every day and accounts for six out of every 10 passengers who travel by air.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo exemptions from night duty restrictions, including the cap on two landings, until February 10. The airline had admitted to the government that it had underestimated the increased crew requirements, despite the court order issued in April 2025 on new duty hours, and acknowledged “planning gaps” in its operations for the rules that came into effect on November 1.

“This exemption has been granted solely to facilitate operational stabilisation and in no way amounts to dilution of safety requirements,” a press statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation said. During this period, the DGCA will review steps taken by IndiGo to address the situation, including hiring of adequate crew to comply with the revised norms.

A four-member committee has also been constituted to inquire into the reasons for the massive disruption at IndiGo.

Airfares surge

As airfares on flights from other airlines skyrocketed with IndiGo passengers trying to make alternative arrangements, SpiceJet added seven flights on Friday (December 5) to destinations like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, and 17 flights on Saturday (December 6).

The Northern Railway decided to increase 3AC (air-conditioned 3-tier) and chair car coaches in four premium trains to allow passengers to make alternative arrangements. These trains included Jammu Rajdhani Express, Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, Chandigarh Shatabdi Express, and Amritsar Shatabdi Express.

Minister for Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu also held a meeting with various pilot bodies, including Airline Pilots’ Association India and Federation of Indian Pilots, and appealed to them to ensure cooperation from pilots to quell brewing unrest over the temporary rollback of rules granted to IndiGo.

Separately, a public appeal from the DGCA requested “full co-operation of all pilots”, adding that the regulator reposed deep respect for the essential role played by pilots.

A slew of other measures were taken to support IndiGo, such as the DGCA permitting IndiGo to utilise 12 of its Flight Operator Inspectors (FoIs) on deputation for flight duties temporarily. The airline has also received support in enhancing pilot training by extending examiner validity, allowing medically unfit trainers to conduct simulator sessions, and enabling IndiGo to engage additional training organisations.

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)