IndiGo Managing Director Rahul Bhatia has called for a review of India’s Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations, saying the current rules have reduced cockpit productivity, increased airline costs and made Indian aviation less competitive than its global peers.
In an interview with PTI, Bhatia said the airline industry has been engaging with the government on the issue and urged policymakers to align India’s regulations with international standards.
“I think Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) needs a review… All we want to do is appeal to the government that we must follow the global best practices,” he said.
The revised FDTL norms came into force in November 2025 after being implemented in phases by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
What changed under the new rules?
The revised regulations were introduced to reduce pilot fatigue. They increased mandatory weekly rest from 36 hours to 48 hours, capped night flying by restricting night duty and the number of night landings, and revised duty period calculations to better account for circadian rhythm and fatigue.
While airlines argued the changes would require more pilots and increase operating costs, pilot associations backed the norms as an important safety measure.
Bhatia said the rollout posed significant operational challenges for IndiGo.
“We were in the eye of the storm” during the implementation of the new rules, he said.
‘Safety isn’t the issue’
According to Bhatia, airlines are not asking for weaker safety standards but for rules that strike the right balance between safety and operational efficiency.
“No airline wants to have unsafe operations,” he said.
He argued that the current framework has affected airline economics.
“When you come up with a policy where the productivity in the cockpit diminishes… it makes Indian aviation uncompetitive. It directly impacts the cost structure,” he said as quoted by PTI.
Describing aviation as a “fine margin” business, Bhatia said India should adopt regulations comparable to global benchmarks rather than significantly stricter ones.
He also questioned the assumption that India’s rules are inherently safer than those followed in countries such as the United States.
Pilots’ body rejects criticism
The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India), however, defended the revised FDTL norms, saying the prescribed rest requirements represent the minimum safety standards for pilots.
The association said diluting the regulations would prioritise cost savings over pilot and passenger safety. It also rejected the argument that fatigue rules are responsible for pilot shortages or the increasing use of expatriate pilots, attributing those issues to anti-competitive practices within the industry.
IndiGo’s operational challenges
The revised norms came under scrutiny after IndiGo cancelled 2,507 flights over three days in December 2025. The DGCA later cited over-optimised schedules, inadequate preparedness, software deficiencies and shortcomings in operational control, while also reducing the airline’s winter schedule by 10 per cent. The regulator subsequently granted the airline temporary relaxation from parts of the revised FDTL norms until February 10.
In its 2025-26 annual report, released this week, IndiGo said the revised crew rostering rules created execution challenges during the peak travel season, contributing to delays, cancellations and other service disruptions.