IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has delayed or canceled hundreds of flights over the past two days as it struggles with new pilot rest and duty-hour norms, even a month after the aviation regulator implemented them. The airline, which operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights each day, said on Wednesday that a “multitude of unforeseen operational challenges” had severely disrupted its network over the past two days, and apologized to passengers for the inconvenience. It added that the disruptions are expected to persist for the next 48 hours.
On Tuesday, just three out of 10 flights departed on schedule, despite punctuality being a key service promise.Almost 62 per cent of the 1,232 flights IndiGo canceled in November were attributed to “crew constraints”.
IndiGo flight cancellations : What are the new pilot roster norms?
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) implemented the latest FDTL norms from November 1, following a Delhi High Court mandate. The rules, which increase weekly rest periods to 48 hours, extend night duty hours, and limit night landings to two per week instead of six, cap the number of landings a pilot can perform between 12 am and 6 am.The DGCA had implemented more humane crew duty norms from November 1, following serious complaints of fatigue from cockpit crew across Indian carriers.Also read: IndiGo continues to face nationwide flight delays, cancellations; what led to the chaos — 10 things to knowAlthough IndiGo and other domestic carriers, including Tata Group-owned Air India, lobbied heavily to postpone the norms, the DGCA enforced them with only limited relaxations. The rollout was phased, with the first phase taking effect in July and the second phase, restricting night landings from six to two, coming into force on November 1, over a year after the rules were initially proposed.The norms were originally scheduled to be implemented in March 2024, but airlines had requested a phased rollout, citing the need for additional crew, as cited by PTI. On Wednesday, IndiGo said it has initiated calibrated adjustments to its schedules “to contain the disruption and restore stability,” though the airline did not disclose specific figures.Over the past year, IndiGo’s owned fleet grew by just 24 aircraft, hindered by slow Airbus deliveries and the grounding of more than 40 planes due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues. The airline also added over 20 damp-lease aircraft, operated by pilots from the leasing airline, as reported by ET.While these new norms increased the demand for pilots, the November cancellation data indicate that IndiGo is struggling to meet the requirement. The airline’s on-time performance (OTP) also fell sharply, dropping from 84.1 per cent in October 2025 to 67.7 per cent last month.A spokesperson for IndiGo cited technology glitches, adverse weather, airport congestion, and the new duty rules as reasons for the flight disruptions. “To contain the disruption and restore stability, we have initiated calibrated adjustments to our schedules. These measures will remain in place for hours and will allow us to normalize our operations,” the spokesperson said according to an ET report.Sources quoted in the ET report said that IndiGo did not recruit additional pilots or ramp up training in time for the new rest norms, which left its available crew overextended, with frequent reassignments, longer duty hours, and increased deadheading, traveling as passengers to operate flights from a different station.“IndiGo has always maintained around 4 per cent crew as a buffer for extraordinary situations,” an official involved in crew planning was quoted as saying by ET. “With the increased requirement of crew due to the new rules, the buffer is zero. That the rules would take effect from November was known to all. Not planning accordingly was a strategic mistake.”
