DGCA imposes ₹22.2 crore penalty on IndiGo for December flight disruptions.
Violations include repeated non-compliance with revised pilot duty and rest norms.
Experts question whether penalty deters future large-scale airline operational failures.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's civil aviation regulator, levied a penalty of ₹22.2 crore on IndiGo for large-scale flight disruptions in December 2025. Senior management was also cautioned by the aviation regulator about the mistakes made last month, reported The Economic Times.
The fine comprises a one-time systemic penalty of ₹1.80 crore for multiple violations of Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs). In addition, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a daily penalty of ₹30 lakh for 68 days of continued non-compliance with the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms, totalling ₹20.40 crore. The cumulative penalty amounts to ₹22.20 crore.
1 January 2026
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Between December 3 and 5, up to 2,507 IndiGo flights were cancelled and 1,852 were delayed, leaving over three lakh passengers stuck at airports.
IndiGo declared in a statement that it is "committed to taking full cognisance of the orders and will take appropriate measures in a thoughtful and timely manner."
According to Mint, Indigo has also been asked to deposit a bank guarantee of ₹50 crore in favour of DGCA to ensure compliance with directives and long-term fixes. However, at least two consultants told Mint that the fine and warnings to IndiGo executives for the chaos that caused over 4,500 flight cancellations in the first week of December may not be enough of a deterrent or the result many expected after aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu warned of strict punishment last month.
“This is just [approximately an] $2.2mn fine. While the DGCA was quick to swing into action, the fact is IndiGo has been let off the hook easily. Apart from the bare minimum financial penalty and some warnings there is nothing significant," Mark D Martin, aviation expert and CEO, Martin Consulting told Mint.
Operational Background
Following a thorough investigation into the December disruption, which revealed systemic planning and operational shortcomings at IndiGo, including insufficient regulatory readiness and over-optimisation of crew schedules, which undermined operational resilience and resulted in widespread flight cancellations and delays, the DGCA imposed a penalty of ₹22.2 crore.
The investigation revealed that the airline did not adequately maintain operational buffers and did not successfully apply the updated Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations, which were intended to increase safety by controlling pilot duty and rest periods.
In addition, DGCA issued a warning to top management, alerting the CEO and other high-ranking officials to oversight and planning shortcomings and indicating a greater regulatory emphasis on passenger rights and accountability.
