 "IndiGo flight cancellations: How rest rules for pilots resulted in chaos")
Thousands of flyers were grounded on Wednesday (December 3) as IndiGo, India’s largest airline, cancelled or delayed more than 200 flights. Airports across the country saw passengers fighting with staff or dejected as the airline announced the disruptions one after another.
The airline, which operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights on a daily basis, reacting to the disruptions, stated that a “multitude of unforeseen operational challenges” significantly disrupted its operations across the network for the past two days, and apologised to their customers for the inconvenience.
According to IndiGo, the challenges they faced were “minor technology glitches, schedule changes linked to the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated crew rostering rules (Flight Duty Time Limitations)”. “These had a negative compounding impact on our operations in a way that was not feasible to be anticipated,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
How have pilots and the new crew rostering rules — Flight Duty Time Limitations — contributed to IndiGo’s flying woes? We get you the answer.
200 flights cancelled, chaos ensues… IndiGo’s flying woes
Over Tuesday and Wednesday, IndiGo saw hundreds of its flights delayed or cancelled with government data revealing that on Tuesday, the airline that boasts of its punctuality only had 35 per cent on-time performance. This implies over 1,400 flights were delayed on Wednesday.
Such was the situation that passengers resorted to sloganeering at Delhi Airport at the boarding gate when a flight to Rajkot was delayed by six hours. The flight was scheduled to take off at 5.40 am and finally departed at 11.30 am.
Similar scenes unfolded at other airports too. For instance, at Mumbai airport, passengers were forced to return after waiting for five to eight hours.
At Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, 62 IndiGo flights were cancelled for the second consecutive day. As many as 31 IndiGo flights were cancelled in Hyderabad. In Delhi, 37 flights were cancelled.
VIDEO | IndiGo cancelled more than 100 flights at various airports on Wednesday as the country's largest airline grappled with significant operational disruptions mainly due to crew shortage. Visuals of stranded passengers at Bengaluru Airport. #Indigoairlines
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 4, 2025
(Full video… pic.twitter.com/RVLqajTvrm
Social media was flooded with frustrated passengers sharing their experiences as a result of the disruptions. One Mumbai flyer wrote online, “IndiGo6E continues to disappoint with delayed/cancelled flights. Scenes from Mumbai airport. Not a single top-level representative at the scene to handle the situation. Shame on you, Indigo. People have decided not to let any Indigo flight take off till other passengers get some clarity.”
Another passenger wrote, “Stuck at the airport for 16 hours. No accountability. No update. Nothing.” Another chimed in, “My Pune–Delhi flight is delayed by more than three-and-a-half hours. People here have been waiting since last night.” One more wrote, “India needs better airlines. Prices are high, services are falling, and delays are endless.” Another chimed in, “Don’t fly Indigo…they loot under the garb of cancellation charges.. This is karma… One day it will shut down because of it’s malpractices!!”
Crazy scenes at Mumbai airport due to IndiGo flight delays pic.twitter.com/sPeO2q7FiS
— Jagriti Chandra (@jagritichandra) December 3, 2025
Acute crew shortage and Flight Duty Time Limitation norms
IndiGo said that crew shortage was one of the reasons that led to the hundreds of flights being cancelled at airports. The airline noted that the introduction of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms last month was one of the primary causes of the disruptions.
But what exactly are these FDTL norms and how are they to blame?
The FDTL are rules laid down by India’s aviation regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), mandating rest hours for pilots and airline crew members. Earlier this month, the DGCA changed the FDTL rules mandating more rest hours and humane rosters, citing fatigue that could endanger the lives of people on board.
The new FDTL rules cap the number of hours a crew member can be on duty. It limits flying to eight hours a day, 35 hours a week, 125 hours a month and 1,000 hours a year. It also specifies mandatory rest periods, requiring that every crew member receive downtime amounting to twice the duration of their flight time, with a minimum of 10 hours of rest within any 24-hour window.
According to the rules, pilots must be given 48 consecutive hours of rest ever week to help them recover from fatigue. Moreover, pilots can only perform a maximum of two landing during night operations — between 12 am and 6 am. The norms also state that airlines can not roster crew members for more than two consecutive nights with a duty period within the night operations.
According to many within the airline, IndiGo has been struggling as a result of the new FDTL rules, as they are unable to realign their network. Many flights had to be grounded because of the unavailability of cabin crew, while others faced long delays.
Pilot fatigue and revision in FDTL norms
The revision in the FDTL norms came after a previous audit found that many airlines were struggling with pilot fatigue. For those who are unaware, pilot fatigue is the physical and mental exhaustion that reduces a pilot’s performance and alertness, caused by factors like sleep deprivation, long hours, irregular schedules, and circadian rhythm disruption from time zone changes.
In the aviation sector, it is a concern because it can affect flight safety, efficiency, productivity and personal health. In fact, in a survey conducted by the Safety Matters Foundation in July 2024, pilots reported feeling increasingly unsafe due to long flying hours, noting that their performance was impaired as a result of insufficient rest. “Fatigue affects everything from decision-making to physical coordination. A fatigued pilot is a danger to everyone on board,” a pilot was quoted as saying.
In India, pilot fatigue has been a cause of concern with many of them complaining of the long hours they are forced to fly. One pilot even told The Print, “Earlier, flying was not so intense. For example, in 2005, there were no departures between midnight and 5 am.”
Now, he added, everything is in disarray. These days, airlines create rosters using software that does not consider you to be a human. To them, you are only a figure that must be maximised for the sake of the business.
Pilots hit back at IndiGo; DGCA summons management
However, many note that it is IndiGo’s poor planning and not the FDTL rules that led to the disruptions. The Federation of India Pilots (FIP) noted in a statement, “The current disruption is the direct consequence of IndiGo’s prolonged and unorthodox lean manpower strategy across departments, particularly in flight operations.”
“Despite the two-year preparatory window before full Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) implementation, IndiGo inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze, entered non-poaching arrangements, maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour, and demonstrated other short-sighted planning practices.”
Taking note of Tuesday and Wednesday’s disruptions, the DGCA has summoned IndiGo management to its headquarters for an explanation. The regulator has asked the airline to present all facts related to the situation along with a detailed plan to mitigate ongoing disruptions.
Meanwhile, Thursday seems to be a repetition of the previous days, with passengers already complaining of delays.
With inputs from agencies
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