IndiGo Airlines may face fresh hurdles next month as the DGCA exemption from pilot duty and rest duration rules runs out. The airline had been forced to cancel thousands of flights last month as the new rules went into effect — leaving countless passengers stranded and incurring a record fine from the aviation watchdog. The airline remains braced for all contingencies once the relaxations are withdrawn on February 10, including the possibility of network adjustments.
According to an Indian Express report quoting sources, the airline has repeatedly assured the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation that it was building sufficient pilot buffers and roster resilience. IndiGo is unlikely to seek an extension after the February 10 deadline and consultations are reportedly underway with aviation authorities.
The low-budget carrier reportedly expects to maintain its current schedule for the entire duration of the Winter Schedule ending on March 28. Sources told the publication that the pilot hiring and onboarding pipeline at the airline is robust. They estimated that IndiGo would have a sufficient number of pilots added to its roster by early to mid-February. Promotions of first officers to captains are also being accelerated in some cases to cover the shortfall.
Sources told Indian Express that the airline would look at network adjustments — particularly a rationalisation of its night flights to achieve resilience in its roster — if these measures failed to meet the February 10 exemption deadline.
DGCA imposes Rs 22.20 crore penalty, pilots body says ‘not enough’
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had announced punitive measures against IndiGo on Saturday following a detailed probe. It imposed penalties totalling Rs 22.20 crore against the airline for cancelling thousands of flights in December and issued a waring for CEO Pieter Elbers. The DGCA also orged the removal of Jason Herter — the Senior Vice President for Operations Control centre — from his current position for non-compliance.
The Federation of Indian Pilots had criticised the decision on Monday — questioning the flight cancellation period considered in the probe by the regulator. It also dubbed the penalty amount “very, very meagre” and insisted that the safety of passengers and aircraft cannot be ‘traded off’.
“It (the DGCA report and subsequent action) is a joke. What is the concrete action taken here? They have not punished anyone. Civil Aviation Minister (K Rammmohan Naidu) on the floor of Parliament said very strict action will be taken. Does the very strict action here mean only a warning? A warning is issued (to a person/persons) in an organisation for smaller mistakes (not disruptions of such magnitude). In this case, there was a national crisis. And they have only issued a warning and moved just one OCC head,” FIP president G S Randhawa told PTI.
What happened in December?
IndiGo had scrapped more than 4,500 flights during the first two weeks of December — leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded across the country. The wave of cancellations began soon after updated pilot rest and duty regulations came into effect and continued later into the month through delays and limited cancellations. IndiGo had also cited poor planning, technical glitches, weather, and high winter demand as contributing factors.
The chaos had also sparked conversation about limited competition in the fastest-growing aviation market in the world. IndiGo runs approximately 60% to 65% of the domestic aviation market , while Air India follows at nearly 27%.
Randhawa has flagged several aspects of the recent DGCA inquiry — noting that the regulator had only mentioned two days between December 3 and December 5 in the probe report. He noted that cancellations had started on December 2 and continued till December 15. There were also multiple delays and scattered cancellations during the remainder of the month.