IndiGo, India’s most prominent airline by market share, has told aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it is fully prepared to comply with the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms once the temporary exemptions end on February 11, as per a PTI report.
DGCA reviews IndiGo’s FDTL compliance ahead of exemption expiry
Following the disruptions, IndiGo faced regulatory action, with the DGCA curtailing the airline’s winter schedule by 10% and allowing temporary relaxations in the FDTL norms till February 10. The exemptions were mainly related to night duty time for pilots and night landings.
Ahead of the expiry of the temporary exemption, the DGCA on Wednesday issued a statement detailing the progress made and assurances provided by the airline.
IndiGo to fully comply with FDTL norms from February 11, says DGCA
IndiGo has stated that all necessary operational, rostering, and monitoring arrangements are being put in place to ensure full compliance with the approved FDTL scheme with effect from February 11, 2026, it said.
DGCA said the two exemptions, for stabilising flight operations, were granted subject to specified conditions, submission of hourly flight operations data and weekly/fortnightly reports on operational performance.
DGCA deploys officers, FOIs to oversee IndiGo operations during exemption period
In the statement, DGCA noted that during the validity of the exemptions, the airline’s flight operations were monitored closely through periodic review meetings and the regulator’s officers were deployed at various airports to oversee passenger handling and address passenger inconvenience.
Also, Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) were positioned at IndiGo’s Operations Control Centre for real-time monitoring of flight operations, ensuring continuous regulatory oversight during the exemption period, it added.
On January 20, DGCA said sustained regulatory oversight as well as corrective measures have helped stabilise operations at IndiGo, and the airline now has an adequate number of pilots to ensure compliance with the new flight duty norms without disruptions.
Citing the airline’s submissions, the watchdog had said there were 2,400 Pilots in Command (PICs) as against the requirement for 2,280, and the number of First Officers was 2,240 compared to the requirement for 2,050.
On Tuesday, an IndiGo spokesperson said that as assured to the regulatory authorities earlier, the airline is maintaining an optimum pool of employees, including pilots, to ensure stable operations across its network.
Flight cancellations in December
In December 2025, the airline was hit by massive operational disruptions due to the implementation of the new FDTL norms, leading to the cancellation of around 2,507 flights.
Following the disruption, the airline’s domestic market share fell to 59.6% in December from 63.6% in November.
IndiGo Q3FY26: Took Rs 577.2 crore hit due to flight disruptions
IndiGo reported a 78% YoY decline in in its Q3 net profit at Rs 549.1 crore. The company took a hit of Rs 1,546.5 crore in the third quarter. This included Rs 577.2 crore due to massive flight disruptions and another Rs 969.3 crore on account of the implementation of new labour laws.
IndiGo was also slapped with a fine of Rs 22.2 crore for the flight disruptions.
InterGlobe Aviation Share Price
The share price of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo has gained nearly 1% in the intra-day trade on Wednesday. The stock has declined 13.5% in past three months.