Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended 4 Flight Operations Inspectors (FIOs), responsible for overseeing airline safety, operational compliance – in connection with IndiGo’s recent flight chaos, reported news agency PTI citing sources. The action was taken for oversight on the part of these principal inspectors, who failed to keep a check on the operations and compliance by the airline.

IndiGo is also facing a penalty of Rs 58.75 crore, reported Reuters, citing sources.

This comes as the government agencies are working to mitigate the situation to reduce passengers’ trouble. Tens of thousands of passengers remain stranded at multiple airports across the country last week after IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights.

The airline faced severe crew shortage due to the now-withdrawn new norms for pilot’s flight duty hours, that allowed them more rest hours to reduce the fatigue. The IndiGo, officials said, failed to estimate the shortage as phase 2 of the FDTL (flight duty time limitation) rules came into effect at the end of November, 2025.

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Who are these flight inspectors?

The flight operations inspectors (FOIs) are the officials designated specifically for an airline. These are appointed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and are tasked to keep a watch on an airline’s requirements and to see if they have the required resources in terms of crews and other means.

DGCA suspends flight operation inspectors amid IndiGo crisis.
DGCA notice suspending 4 FOIs (ANI)

Besides this, the DGCA has asked the airline to hire more pilots to avert any crisis like the one happened this month. IndiGo, meanwhile, sought some exemption from the norms till Feb 10, 2026 – by when it expects the delivery of Airbus A320 aircraft type.

10 latest developments on IndiGo crisis

  1. The tax department has reportedly raised demands, along with penalty on IndiGo amounting to Rs 58.75 crore. In BSE filing, the airline said, “The company believes that the order passed by the authorities is erroneous. Further, the company believes that it has a strong case on merits, backed by advice from external tax advisors.”
  2. IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers will be appearing before the DGCA again on Friday. He and other officials appeared before the regulator on Thursday. He was told that a four-member panel will question him on the recent fiasco on Friday.
  3. The four-member panel comprises Joint Director General Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, with a mandate to identify the root causes of widespread operational disruptions.
  4. The DGCA has increased the scrutiny of IndiGo after it cancelled thousands of flights over the past week, and deployed officials at its office to keep a check on the activities and compliance. Those deployed have been reportedly asked to send daily updates.
  5. The DGCA earlier issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers after widespread cancellations. The airline responded seeking additional time to respond, stating that it is “realistically not possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” at this time, given the “complexity and vast scale of operations.”
  6. As for the reasons, IndiGo identified some preliminary contributing factors to this fiasco, including the FDTL order. It said that apart from FDTL, other contributing factors such as “minor technical glitches, schedule changes, adverse weather conditions” impacted the services.
  7. In an official statement, according to DGCA, IndiGo said: “Preliminary Contributing Factors: The airline suggests that the disruption resulted from a combination of the following factors, which coincided in lesser or greater measure: 1. Minor technical glitches. 2. Schedule changes linked to the start of the winter season. 3. Adverse weather conditions. 4. Increased congestion in the aviation system. 5. Implementation of and operation under the updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitation Phase II).”
  8. On Thursday, IndiGo announced compensation for the passengers who faced troubles on Dec 3-5, offering them travel vouchers worth Rs 10,000, which can be used for any future IndiGo journey within the next 12 months. This was in addition to Rs 5000 and Rs 10,000 compensation to those whose flights were cancelled within 24 hours of their journey.
  9. Amid this, a writ petition has also been filed against Interglobe aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, over recent flight cancellations. The airline said it was taking measures to respond to the petition, reported Reuters.
  10. Already dealing with route cuts, IndiGo is likely to see capacity cuts as well, once it presents its plan before the Ministry of Civil Aviation, PTI reported. Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu on Thursday stressed that the airline did not hire a single pilot for the past six months.