The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is seeking to overhaul domestic regulations to ensure that top-level leadership of airlines is held personally and financially responsible for cases of non-compliance in the future, following multiple operational breakdowns in 2025.
The aviation regulator has issued a draft amendment under which only chief executive officers (CEO) and managing directors (MDs) of airlines will be considered Accountable Managers of airlines and must now have full corporate authority to make decisions, with direct control over financial and human resources.
The notification mandates that the “Accountable Manager” (AM) of an airline must be the person holding the highest executive position, such as the CEO or MD, and must be authorised by a board resolution. The DGCA has invited comments on the draft notification till April 25.
After the IndiGo Crisis
The proposed amendments will close a loophole that allowed senior leadership to deflect responsibility for operational failures during last year’s flight disruption crisis. The change addresses findings from DGCA’s inquiry into IndiGo’s operational meltdown, when the airline cancelled 2,507 flights between December 3 and 5, stranding over three lakh passengers.
A four-member DGCA investigative committee found that “IndiGo’s management failed to identify planning gaps, maintain sufficient operational buffers, and effectively implement the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation norms”.
Regulatory documents show the airline’s senior vice president for operations control was removed from his position, but the CEO received only a caution for “inadequate oversight”.
The draft also mandates that airlines assign crew members in alignment with their operational needs and flight schedules, factoring in Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). This new requirement replaces the former standard of a minimum of three crew sets per aircraft.
Aligning Indian Aviation
The proposed draft also aligns domestic regulations with international standards. International aviation safety standards define the role of the Accountable Manager as the position is tasked with the corporate responsibility to ensure that all operational activities can be adequately financed and conducted to meet the required standards for obtaining an Air Operator Certificate.
As established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and enforced by various regulators, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), this critical role must be held by the highest authority within the organisation—the CEO, as outlined in EASA’s guidance documents.
The new DGCA draft also aims to prevent future occurrences of operational mishaps in domestic airlines by making executive leadership legally accountable for resource allocation.
The rules specify that airlines must employ a sufficient number of flight and cabin crew “commensurate to their operations,” prohibiting the overscheduling that led to the IndiGo collapse. Furthermore, it requires the AM to ensure flights are conducted safely across the entire network, established through an effective Safety Management System.
Government data indicates the scale of the challenge, with 377 aircraft in the domestic fleet recently flagged for recurring technical or operational defects. By linking the highest office in an airline to its safety performance, the regulator intends to transition from a reactive oversight model to one of proactive corporate responsibility.