Argus News - IndiGo Flight Schedules Cut by 5%: What the DGCA Action Means for Travellers

New Delhi, Dec 9: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is facing turbulence after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered a 5% cut in its daily flights, translating to about 115 cancellations from its 2,300 daily services.

Sources confirmed the airline has been notified, with adjustments being planned to minimize disruption on critical routes. Authorities may impose an additional 5% reduction depending on how effectively IndiGo manages its operations in the coming days.

IndiGo’s troubles stem from a mismatch between its expanded winter schedule and new crew duty regulations. The carrier had an approved summer schedule of 14,158 weekly domestic flights, which was increased by 6% to 15,014 in the winter schedule effective October 26.

Also read: Govt To Curtail IndiGo’s Winter Schedule, Slots To Be Handed To Other Airlines: Minister

However, the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) Phase II, which came into force on November 1, required more pilots per flight.

IndiGo failed to adequately prepare for this change while simultaneously expanding its daily operations, leading to modest cancellations in November that escalated into a full-blown crisis in early December, with hundreds of flights scrapped daily.

In contrast, Air India and AI Express reduced their weekly domestic schedules by 0.8% and 6% respectively from summer to winter, avoiding similar chaos. This has raised questions about why aviation authorities permitted IndiGo to expand without verifying crew availability under the new FDTL rules.

The ministry has stated that “exemplary action” will be taken against the airline, even as the FDTL norms have been temporarily suspended for IndiGo’s Airbus A320 fleet until February 10, 2026.

IndiGo has described the disruption as the result of a “compounding effect of multiple factors,” including minor technical glitches, seasonal schedule changes, adverse weather, congestion in the aviation system, and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules. The airline insists the crisis was an “unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence” of events.

With DGCA’s intervention, the spotlight is now firmly on IndiGo’s operational planning and regulatory oversight. The coming weeks will determine whether India’s largest carrier can stabilize its schedule and restore confidence among passengers.