‘IndiGo has assured operational stability, no flight cuts post February 10:

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Tuesday said IndiGo has assured it of “operational stability and no flight cancellations after Feb 10, 2026,” when the airline’s exemption from new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rule ends.

IndiGo management had met DGCA top brass on Monday and made these assurances “based on the current approved network… crew strength, and the removal of the two FDTL exemptions approved on December 6, 2025,” the regulator said in a statement.“As per the latest weekly review meeting held on January 19, 2026, IndiGo has reported adequate pilot availability against projected operational requirements.” The required and available pilot numbers as on February 10, 2026, are: 2,400 Airbus captains available against a requirement of 2,280, and 2,240 Airbus first officers available against a requirement of 2,050.The regulator says IndiGo had experienced flight disruptions last month due to “mismanagement of adequate flight crew; inadequate regulatory preparedness at the operator level, and shortcomings in system software support, management structure, & operational control.”“There was an overriding focus on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which led to reduced roster buffer margins.

Crew rosters were designed to operate at the limits of permissible duty periods... This approach compromised roster integrity and operational resilience and adversely impacted effective implementation of the revised FDTL provisions,” the regulator said.The aviation ministry and the DGCA had then “initiated immediate stabilisation and enhanced oversight measures” and made “certain temporary operational exceptions strictly in public interest to stabilise the system, without compromising safety.”“The sustained regulatory oversight and corrective measures undertaken by IndiGo have resulted in stabilisation of operations and improvement in service reliability. The DGCA continues to closely monitor the airline’s operations, with particular emphasis on roster integrity, crew availability, buffer adequacy, system robustness, and adherence to FDTL requirements. The aviation ministry and DGCA remain committed to safeguarding passenger safety, protecting public interest, and ensuring resilient and compliant airline operations across the sector,” the statement added.Between December 6 and 30, 2025, the regulator had deployed two flight operations inspectors (FOIs) along with passenger facilitation personnel at IndiGo’s operations control centre (OCC) and at key airports to oversee day-to-day operations, monitoring passenger handling, and ensuring regulatory compliance during the recovery phase.IndiGo was also asked to submit weekly and fortnightly reports regarding “critical operational and manpower parameters” and a “detailed corrective action plan outlining measures to ensure operational stability and full compliance with revised FDTL provisions,” respectively. The enhanced reporting framework covered issues like pilot training plans and attrition forecasts; pending endorsements; command upgrades and first officer hiring; pilot release timelines across all categories; required versus available pilot strength.