DGCA orders IndiGo to cut flights by 5 pc; Minister promises strict action

Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered IndiGo to cut its planned flights by 5 per cent on high-capacity routes during winter, as it looked to bring some order at India's biggest airline, which cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in the December 8 order, asked IndiGo to submit a revised schedule by Wednesday.

As part of the winter schedule for 2025-26, the airline has been operating over 2,200 flights per day.

The latest order is part of a suite of actions by authorities that followed IndiGo, which controls over 65 per cent of the market share, cancelling more than 4,000 flights since December 2 that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, upending their vacation plans, important meetings and weddings.

DGCA, which previously issued a show cause notice to IndiGo's chief executive and chief operating officer to explain the disruptions, has set up a four-member panel to probe the lapses.

The regulator, in the fresh notice, said that IndiGo's winter schedule shows that the airline has increased its departures by 9.66 per cent from last year, while the same relation to its summer schedule is set to rise by 6.05 per cent.

"However, the airline has not demonstrated an ability to operate these schedules efficiently," the notice said.

"Therefore, it is directed to reduce the schedule by 5 per cent across sectors, especially on high-demand, high-frequency flights, and to avoid single-flight operations on a sector by IndiGo."

In the Lok Sabha, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said no airline, however large, will be permitted to cause hardship to passengers through planning failures and non-compliance with regulations. "Strict and appropriate action will be taken."

The minister said the DGCA has already issued notices to IndiGo and that the airline is being held fully accountable for the chaos caused by its internal crew-rostering failures.

Naidu said IndiGo flight schedules are stabilising and all other airlines continue to operate smoothly across the country.

"IndiGo was ordered to issue refunds promptly, and more than Rs 750 crore has already reached passengers," the minister said.

He said airports across the country are reporting normal conditions, with no crowding or distress.

"Refunds, baggage tracing and passenger support measures remain under the supervision of the ministry. DGCA has issued show-cause notices to IndiGo's senior leadership and commenced a detailed enforcement investigation," Naidu said.

"Based on the report, strict and appropriate action will be taken."

For decades, IndiGo relied on aggressive scheduling and max night-flight utilisation - a business model that collapsed when tighter safety regulations that increased the mandatory weekly rest period for pilots and sharply reduced permissible night-landings and any extended night-duty hours came into force.

The result was catastrophic: on-time performance plunged, hundreds of flights were cancelled daily, and major airports saw chaos with stranded passengers, overloaded terminals and long queues.

IndiGo has said that increased congestion in the aviation system, the implementation of pilot rest rules from November 1, minor technical glitches and adverse weather were behind the disruptions. It operated over 2,200 flights daily before the travel chaos struck.

The airline has said it hopes to return to normalcy this week.

The DGCA, in its flight curtailment order, said it had approved 15,014 IndiGo departures per week for the winter season when travel demand picks up in India. But the airline cancelled 951 flights in November out of the 64,346 flights approved for the entire month.

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the firm that operates the IndiGo, were down 2 per cent on Tuesday. The shares have lost over 17 per cent of their value this month.