DGCA hits pause on rest rules as IndiGo brings skies to a halt

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Friday withdrew its order on weekly rest hours for aviation crew, in a one-time relief, after India’s largest airline faced disruptions bringing air travel to a near halt in the country. “The Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) orders of the DGCA have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect,” Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a written statement. “We anticipate that complete restoration of services will be achieved within the next three days,” the statement added. The FDTL rules have been kept in abeyance till 10 February 2026.

Meanwhile, the Union Government has ordered four-member committee to probe into disruption caused by IndiGo. The committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the aviation regulator within 15 days to enable necessary regulatory enforcement action and ensure institutional strengthening. The Government also made it clear that in case of any flight cancellations, the airlines will issue full refunds automatically, without the need for passengers to make any requests. Passengers who are stranded due to prolonged delays will be provided hotel accommodation arranged directly by the airlines.

Airports across India are in a state of chaos as IndiGo struggles with a surge of cancellations and delays. Flights are being scrapped or postponed at short notice, leaving travellers stranded, confused, and stuck in long queues. The turmoil is largely attributed to new crew rest regulations and acute staffing shortages. In response, the airline has urged passengers not to head to the airport unless their flight has been confirmed, as it works to manage crowds and prevent further disruption.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it has issued repeated directions and advance instructions from time to time to the airline for having timely preparation to implement the provisions related to the FDTL norms. The DGCA said the airline’s non-adherence of its directions limited the carrier’s ability to accurately forecast crew availability, conduct timely training and realign rosters despite advance regulatory intimation.

IndiGo issued an advisory urging passengers “not to travel to the airport unless they have received a confirmation notification” that their flight will operate. Following the airline’s widespread flight cancellations, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers confirmed that over 1,000 flights were cancelled on December 5, marking it as the most severely affected day. Elbers said the airline expects to have less than 1,000 flight cancellations on Saturday and that the situation is anticipated to normalise between December 10-15. Elbers explained that the massive disruption was caused by the rebooting of IndiGo’s entire operational system. He urged passengers not to visit airports for cancelled flights to avoid further inconvenience.