New Delhi: IndiGo’s flights operations will be fully compliant with the new pilot rest and duty duration norms from Wednesday, the airline had told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
This follows the expiration of the specific exemptions given to the airline after its operational meltdown early December, DGCA has said.
“IndiGo Airlines has informed DGCA that it shall be fully prepared to comply with the statutory provisions and to implement the approved Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) scheme…upon expiry of the exemptions,” the DGCA said in a statement on Wednesday, as reported by The Indian Express.
The specific exemptions from some FDTL norms granted to IndiGo lapsed on Tuesday (February 10).
“IndiGo Airlines has further stated that all necessary operational, fostering, and monitoring arrangements are being put in place to ensure full compliance with the approved FDTL scheme with effect from 11 February 2026,” the statement added.
IndiGo had assured the DGCA last month that it will have sufficient pilot availability to maintain its current level of flight operations -over 2,200 daily flights – beyond February 10.
It will have 2,400 captains available for its Airbus A320 fleet, against a requirement of 2,280 to maintain stable operations as per its current flight schedule after February 10, the country’s largest airline had informed.
The airline had also said it will have 2,240 first officers available, against a requirement of 2,050. When the crisis crippled IndiGo’s operations for a few days in December, the airline had informed the DGCA that it was short by 65 captains for its workhorse Airbus A320 fleet to maintain its schedule as per the new FDTL rules, even though it had first officers in sufficient numbers.
The new FDTL rules stipulate more rest for pilots and rationalisation of their flying duties-particularly late night operations-in a bid to better manage pilot fatigue, which is a key risk to aviation safety.
These new norms, which were stipulated in January 2024, were delayed in their implementation and took effect in two phase-from July 1, 2025 and November 1, 2025-with the second phase rollout hitting IndiGo considerably. The new norms meant that airlines either had to have more pilots to maintain their schedule, or shrink the schedule in line with the new requirements. IndiGo, however, was caught unprepared.
IndiGo currently operates over 2,200 flights -around 1,900 domestic and the rest international – following a 10% government-mandated curtailment in its approved domestic schedule till March. Given that IndiGo commanded a domestic market share of around 65%, the disruption had brought India’s civil aviation operations to their knees.
The large-scale disruption, which erupted on December 3, peaked on December 5 with over 1,600 of the airline’s 2,300-plus daily flights getting cancelled in a single day. But with the DGCA granting specific exemptions, the airline was able to swiftly stabilise operations over the course of the next few days. On January 9, IndiGo was ordered to curtail its approved domestic flight schedule by 10%.
The DGCA had imposed financial penalties totalling Rs 22.20 crore on the airline last month for the operational meltdown, apart from issuing warnings to its top management personnel. The fine is the highest-ever regulatory penalty imposed by the DGCA on an airline, and is slightly higher than IndiGo’s average daily net profit for financial year 2024-25.
