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2025 IndiGo disruption
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In December 2025, IndiGo, the biggest airline in India, experienced the largest disruption to its operations it ever faced after failing to adjust to new crew flight time limitations. The disruption has resulted in over 2,100 flight cancellations across the country as of 5 December.[2]
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Background
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At the time of the disruption, IndiGo had more than 60% of the domestic market share.[3] In 2024, the Indian government announced it would implement new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules in June that year, which increased pilot rest periods and reduced night work in order to combat pilot fatigue. IndiGo and other airlines pushed back on the changes, delaying implementation until 2025.[4][5] IndiGo was able to complete the first phase from July 1 without issues, but due to its low cost and staffing level model could not meet the full implementation of the rules as ordered on November 1, particularly the limitation on night landings for crew dropping from six to two per week. IndiGo previously reported to DGCA that it had 1,232 flight cancellations in November, 755 of which were due to crew and FDTL-related constraints, 258 were due to airspace and airport restrictions and 92 were due to air traffic control system failure incidents while the airline's on-time performance (OTP) had also worsened from 84.1% in October, to 67.7% in November.[6] [4] In response to the disruptions, the Federation of Indian Pilots pointed out that other airlines had adapted without major impact and that IndiGo's challenges stemmed from "years of lean manpower planning" and delayed hiring, non-poaching arrangements and other short-sighted planning practices.[4][7]
According to the airline, other factors behind the disruptions included technology issues (such as the A320 software patch), seasonal schedule realignment, airport congestion, and adverse weather conditions. IndiGo apologised for the inconvenience and initiated temporary schedule adjustments to stabilise operations over the following 48 hours.[7][4][7]
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Timeline
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On 5 December 2025, to cope with management issues, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo a temporary exemption from some of the new FDTL rules, notably, the night duty rules and Leave-For-Rest norm.[10] The move was criticised by pilot unions as compromising on safety.[11] The ministry of civil aviation setup 24x7 hotline to assist passengers affected by the service disruption and the central government ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.[12][13] The railway ministry decided to add 116 more coaches in 37 premium trains for the convenience of travellers, in response to the crisis.[14] While cancellation of flights on 5 December plunged Indigo's on time performance to 8.5% from 19.7% of the previous day, Indigo promised full refunds for those affected by cancellations spanning 5 to 15 December.[9] As fares rose on other airlines in response to the disruptions, the government placed price caps on 6 December, and additionally ordered IndiGo to complete all pending refunds for the disruption by the next day.[15][16] The DCGA sent a show cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers asking for a response within 24 hours pending regulatory action to be taken against the airline.[17][18] As of 7 December, IndiGo estimated that normal operations would be completed by 10 December.[1]
Travel to and from weddings in particular was severely interrupted as the disruption coincided with India's peak wedding season during the winter months.[19]
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Responses
The CEO of IndiGo, Pieter Elbers, made a public apology on social media acknowledging the severe disruptions and promised a return to function of normalisation of services.[6] Additionally, the airline stated that its board had set up a crisis management group on 7 December.[20]
Minister of aviation K. Rammohan Naidu deliberated in Rajya Sabha that the government will take “very, very strict action” against IndiGo for its recent flight-disruption fiasco, blaming the chaos on poor crew-roster management rather than technical glitches. He said that this was not just about punishing one airline, but about setting an example for the entire civil-aviation sector.[21]
References
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