Report by S Lalitha for The New Indian Express
NEW DELHI: With over 1,000 IndiGo flights cancelled on Thursday and all 235 domestic departures from Delhi grounded for 24 hours, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday announced immediate suspension of aviation regulator DGCA’s revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms to ease crew shortages that resulted in the crisis.
Naidu assured that IndiGo services would be fully restored within three days, with schedules stabilising by Saturday. However, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers contradicted the timeline, stating in a video message that normalcy would return only by December 10-15. The airline had earlier informed DGCA that a complete recovery of flying schedules could take until February 1, 2026.
After an emergency review meeting with ministry, DGCA, AAI and IndiGo officials, Naidu announced a high-level inquiry into the flight disruption. A four-member DGCA panel comprising Sanjay K Brahmane, DGCA Joint Director General, Amit Gupta, Deputy Director General, Kapil Manglik, Senior Flight Operating Inspector (SFOI) and Lokesh Rampal, FOI, has been asked to submit its report within two weeks.
The aviaition regulator accused IndiGo of “deficiencies in internal oversight, operational preparedness and compliance planning” despite repeated warnings to prepare for the new rostering rules.
On Friday too, chaos gripped airports nationwide as irate passengers protested at Delhi’s IGIA terminals. Similar scenes unfolded in Bengaluru (100+ cancellations) and Hyderabad (90+). Chennai suspended IndiGo’s domestic operations on Friday.