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DGCA Puts IndiGo under Direct Monitoring with Oversight Team; CEO Summoned as Over 200 Daily Flights Cut
Moneylife Digital Team 10 December 2025
Investor Interest
Aviation regulator directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has deployed an eight-member oversight team of senior flight operations inspectors to closely monitor IndiGo’s functioning. According to the regulator’s order issued on 10 December 2025, two officers will now be stationed daily at IndiGo’s corporate headquarters in Gurugram to scrutinise fleet deployment, crew utilisation, roster practices, unplanned leave patterns, standby strength and sector-wise disruptions arising from crew shortages. In addition, a deputy director and a senior statistical officer have been assigned to track cancellations, refund status, on-time performance, passenger compensation and baggage return. Both teams will submit daily status reports to the DGCA leadership every evening.
 
DGCA has also summoned IndiGo's chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers to its Delhi office on Thursday, demanding a comprehensive report on the airline’s prolonged operational breakdown that has stranded lakhs of passengers across the country. The regulator says Mr Elbers must appear at 3pm along with senior officials from all relevant departments and furnish complete data on the ongoing disruptions.
 
The directive came on a day when IndiGo cancelled nearly 220 flights across major hubs, contradicting the CEO’s public claim that operations are 'back on track'. At Delhi alone, 137 flights were cancelled, followed by 61 in Bengaluru and 21 in Mumbai, according to media reports.
 
The scale of disruption has been severe. Data shared by Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) shows IndiGo cancelled 905 flights between 1st December and 8 December 2025, affecting 40,789 passengers at Mumbai airport. During the same period, 1,475 IndiGo flights were delayed by more than 30 minutes. Against its scheduled 3,171 flights, the airline could operate only 2,266.
 
The Union ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) has now ordered IndiGo to cut its operations by 10% for the entire winter season, doubling the 5% reduction originally proposed by DGCA. With IndiGo operating around 2,200 flights a day, this means over 200 cancellations daily until late-March.
 
Civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, who met Mr Elbers on Tuesday, says the decision was unavoidable given the airline’s 'internal mismanagement' involving faulty crew rosters, disrupted schedules and poor communication with passengers. “The cut is essential to stabilise operations and reduce cancellations,” he wrote on X.
 
 
The ministry also directed IndiGo to comply with fare caps, accelerate refunds and ensure prompt baggage delivery for affected passengers. IndiGo later confirmed that refunds for all flights cancelled until 6 December 2025 had been completed.
 
 
Officials have attributed IndiGo’s meltdown to crew shortages caused by the updated flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms that tightened early-morning flying limits from 1 November 2025. The revisions restrict pilots’ duty hours during the fatigue-prone 12am–6am window and reduce the number of landings allowed during night duty, forcing airlines to overhaul roster patterns.
 
IndiGo failed to adapt its schedules quickly enough, leading to widespread crew unavailability, cascading cancellations and severe delays. The airline has cancelled over 3,000 flights in the past week, prompting the government to warn of stringent action.
 
IndiGo, which controls more than 60% of India’s domestic market, risks deeper turbulence as analysts warn the 10% reduction will tighten capacity during peak holiday and wedding travel months. Aviation experts say rivals such as Air India and Akasa Air lack spare aircraft to fill the gap, while SpiceJet—with additional wet-leased planes—may partly absorb demand on trunk routes.
 
IndiGo’s share price has fallen 15% since 1st December, reflecting investor concerns over rising operational costs and crew-related expenses.
 
Despite the crisis, Mr Elbers has maintained that operations have 'fully stabilised' and that flights displayed on the airline’s website are now operating on an 'adjusted network'. IndiGo reported flying 1,800 flights on Tuesday and plans 1,900 on Wednesday, down from its pre-crisis level of 2,300 daily services.
 
 
DGCA, in its updated order, says IndiGo had 'not demonstrated the ability to operate the approved winter schedule efficiently' and instructed the airline to submit its revised schedule by Wednesday evening. The regulator has prohibited IndiGo from operating single flights on any route, instead prioritising high-frequency sectors.
 
The government has also warned of further penalties once DGCA completes its investigation. “Strict and appropriate action will follow under the Aircraft Act depending on the outcome,” the minister told Parliament.
 
For now, passengers are bracing for another week of uncertainty as India’s largest airline attempts to stabilise its network under regulatory scrutiny and reduced capacity.
 
You may also want to read…
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comments
Kamal Garg
2 months ago
It has been reported somewhere that instead of increasing number of pilots, due to new regulations, Indigo actually reduced the number of pilots , leading to such crisis. Singularly responsible for such diabolic act and must be severely punished.
Reply
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