The central government has granted relief to India's largest airline, IndiGo, from the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules. The government has immediately withdrawn its order which mandated a continuous 48-hour weekly rest period for pilots and other crew members every seven days.

The new rules from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stipulated that weekly rest and holidays be treated separately. These rules were designed to reduce fatigue among pilots and other crew members. However, now the crew will receive a continuous 36-hour rest period every seven days, as before.

Due to the DGCA's new rules, IndiGo faced a shortage of crew members (including pilots and other flight staff) for the fourth consecutive day on Friday. This resulted in the cancellation of over 500 flights at several airports, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.

The situation at the airports is dire. Passengers have been waiting for flights for up to 24 hours. They are not receiving any information about their flights. At Delhi airport, passengers were seen arguing and fighting with staff and security personnel over water, food, and essential supplies. In several instances, the situation escalated to physical altercations.

Delhi Airport: All Flights Cancelled, Know the Situation

Delhi IGI: The highest number of cancellations, 225 flights, occurred in Delhi. IndiGo has cancelled all domestic flights departing from Delhi airport until midnight tonight. Thousands of suitcases were left lying around the terminal. Many passengers took more than 12 hours to retrieve their luggage. The crowds became so large that passengers sat on the floor and stairs for hours waiting for their flights.

Mumbai: Long queues formed at IndiGo counters after several flights were cancelled.
Raipur: Elderly people and young children had to wait for hours on chairs. Some passengers were seen arguing with staff and security personnel.

Pune: 32 flights were cancelled at this airport since this morning. After the cancellations, passengers' luggage remained piled up in trolleys. Passengers had to wait a long time to retrieve their belongings. Hyderabad: 32 flights have been cancelled here. Thousands of passengers across the country are facing inconvenience due to flight cancellations and delays.

Bengaluru: 102 flights have been cancelled in Bengaluru. Here too, people were seen waiting for hours at the airport before returning home.
Indigo had appealed to the DGCA on Thursday to grant it an exemption from the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules until February 10, 2026. The company assured that its operational situation would return to normal within three months.

Due to new safety regulations in the aviation sector, India's largest airline, IndiGo, is facing a crew shortage for the third consecutive day. This has severely impacted IndiGo's operations. According to news agency PTI, more than 300 IndiGo flights were canceled on Thursday at over 10 airports, including Delhi and Mumbai.

A passenger at Pune airport reported waiting for more than eight hours. Both floors of the airport were crowded with passengers, and three passengers even fainted. The airline was not sending any messages regarding the flight cancellations.

At Delhi airport today, a total of 95 IndiGo flights were canceled. These included 48 domestic and international flights departing from Delhi and 47 arriving flights. Similarly, 86 flights were canceled in Mumbai, 50 in Bengaluru, 70 in Hyderabad, 4 in Jaipur, and 3 in Indore.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has changed the safety regulations related to the working hours of pilots and other crew members for all airlines, effective November 1st. This has had the biggest impact on IndiGo. On Thursday, IndiGo officials met with the DGCA to discuss the matter.

IndiGo has the most planes, hence the biggest impact

The airline operates approximately 2,300 domestic and international flights daily. This number is almost double the number of flights operated by Air India in a day. On such a large scale, even if 10-20 percent of flights are delayed or canceled, it means 200-400 flights are affected, causing major difficulties for thousands of passengers. On Wednesday, more than 200 IndiGo flights were also affected.

Now, understand the new DGCA rules

The DGCA has changed the rules related to the working hours of pilots and other crew members, effective November 1st. This is called Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL). These rules have been implemented in two phases. The first phase was implemented on July 1st.

The second phase came into effect on November 1st. The new rules emphasize providing adequate rest to pilots and crew to enhance passenger safety. This has resulted in a sudden shortage of pilots and crew members for airline companies. The DGCA stated that a total of 1,232 IndiGo flights were canceled in November, including 755 due to the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.

IndiGo says the situation will normalize by December 5th

The airline issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that minor technical glitches, schedule changes due to winter, bad weather, slow network in the aviation system, and the new rules related to crew members' shift charts (Flight Duty Time Limitation) have adversely affected operations. This was not possible to anticipate beforehand. The situation will normalize by December 5th.

IndiGo officials met with the DGCA

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had asked IndiGo on Wednesday for details of the reasons for the current problems and the plan to address them. The DGCA said it is investigating the matter and assessing ways to reduce flight cancellations and delays. Airline officials met with the DGCA on Thursday.

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According to the DGCA, the shortage of crew is the main reason. This problem has been ongoing at IndiGo since last month. 1232 of its flights were canceled in November. On Tuesday, 1400 flights were delayed.