IndiGo, India’s dominant carrier, was hit by a wave of flight cancellations in early December after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s tougher pilot flight-duty rules, introduced in two phases, with the final phase coming into effect on 1 November 2025, tightened weekly rest and night-duty limits to tackle fatigue. The new rules raised weekly rest requirements and capped night landings and consecutive night duties, and they have been widely credited as the main operational trigger for the recent rostering shortfalls.
The disruption unfolded quickly. On 4 December, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda airport recorded several dozen IndiGo cancellations (widely reported as about 73 that day), and Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi also saw heavy disruption as the airline adjusted rosters and withdrew services. Across the early December window, outlets reported hundreds of cancellations in total, figures that shifted as the situation evolved.
IndiGo has publicly acknowledged that it ‘misjudged’ crew requirements under the new FDTL norms and told the DGCA it had planning gaps in implementing the second phase. The airline has requested some temporary operational relief while it hires and re-rostors crews; it has informed regulators it expects operations to be fully restored by 10 February 2026 and will trim schedules from 8 December as an immediate stabilisation measure.
Markets reacted to the disruption: InterGlobe Aviation’s shares fell roughly 3–3.4% in early trading as investors assessed the operational and financial impact. Pilot unions and other industry bodies also criticised aspects of the transition, arguing that safety-driven duty limits need orderly implementation across the sector.
Passengers bore the brunt on the ground, long queues, flight re-bookings, refunds and claims for hotel and meals, and regulators have said they will closely monitor fares, passenger facilitation and IndiGo’s detailed hiring and rostering plan. The episode highlights the trade-off: the FDTL changes aim to reduce crew fatigue and raise safety margins, but rapid enforcement without fully adapted rostering and capacity adjustments can cause short-term disruption.
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