DGCA has ordered IndiGo to cut around 110 daily flights, reports claim.
The directive comes after massive delays and over 1,000 cancellations on December 5.
The freed-up slots expected to go to rivals like Air India and Akasa.
Crisis-hit IndiGo has reportedly been ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cut about 110 daily flights from its winter roster, after the government said it plans to make “an example” for all airlines.
The action follows thousands of cancellations and long delays faced by IndiGo passengers since last week, after the airline updated its crew roster to comply with the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms. A shortage of pilots and other crew members, along with additional operational issues, led to over 1,000 flights being cancelled on December 5 across the country.
1 December 2025
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The carrier, which holds over 65% of India’s domestic market and operates more than 2,200 flights a day, has been asked to cancel 5% of its total services by Tuesday evening, a senior government official told the Economic Times. The report said these slots will be reassigned to rivals such as Air India and Akasa.
According to Mint, Air India’s request to increase its daily flights by 60–70 is likely to be approved by the DGCA.
Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, “We will curtail IndiGo’s routes. They are currently operating 2,200 flights. We will definitely curtail them.”
Meanwhile, IndiGo continued to cancel large numbers of flights on Tuesday. This included 26 services to and from Lucknow, while Bengaluru reported 121 cancellations, Chennai 81, Hyderabad 58, Mumbai 31 and Ahmedabad 16.
MoCA to Hold Review Meeting
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is expected to hold a review meeting with senior officials from all airline operators, India Today reported. The meeting is expected to focus on preventing a repeat of IndiGo’s recent operational crisis.
Another report said IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras are set to be summoned on Wednesday by the four-member DGCA probe panel. The panel, formed by MoCA, comprises Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and Flight Operations Inspector Lokesh Rampal.
In its response to the DGCA’s show-cause notice on Monday, IndiGo said the disruptions were caused by a “compounding effect of multiple factors” that came together in an “unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence”.
It cited minor technical issues, winter schedule adjustments, adverse weather, congestion and the rollout of updated FDTL Phase II norms. The airline added that it was “not realistically possible to pinpoint the exact cause(s)” within the given timeframe and sought additional time for a full analysis.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told Parliament that strict measures will follow. “We are not taking the situation easily,” he said in the Rajya Sabha. “We are doing an inquiry, and we will take very, very strict action. We will set an example for all the airlines.”
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., IndiGo’s parent, fell 8.7% on Monday. The fall extended a seven-day slide that has erased around $4.5 billion in market value, after the government signalled penalties for the airline. On Tuesday, the carrier’s shares were marginally up by 0.10%, trading at ₹4,931 on the BSE at 11:16 am.
