DGCA has removed four officials responsible for overseeing IndiGo operations after lapses related to crew availability under new flight duty rules, triggering regulatory action.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has taken strict action against IndiGo by removing four officials who were responsible for monitoring the airline’s flight operations. These officials were Flight Operations Inspectors, also known as FOIs, and were specially assigned to keep a close watch on IndiGo’s staffing and operational needs.
According to officials, the inspectors failed to highlight a serious pilot shortage even after new flight duty time limitation rules were announced. These rules were supposed to come into effect from July 1, 2025, and later November 1, which clearly meant IndiGo would need more pilots to run its flights smoothly.
Because the issue was not flagged on time, IndiGo struggled to follow the new rules. This forced the aviation regulator to temporarily put the new duty limits on hold for Airbus A320 aircraft till February 10, 2026. The move was taken to avoid large-scale flight cancellations like those seen earlier this month.
An official familiar with the matter said, “IndiGo was in discussion with DGCA on the new FDTL and was aware of the increased pilot requirement. Yet they did not hire pilots.” Despite this, IndiGo has continued to maintain that there is no pilot shortage within the airline.
The DGCA has now directed IndiGo to speed up pilot hiring to avoid similar problems in the future. As of now, the airline’s operations are slowly returning to normal, with more than 2,050 flights operating across 138 destinations in a single day.
At the same time, tension between IndiGo’s pilots and management has come into focus. Officials claim there is growing mistrust, especially towards the airline’s operations control centre. Issues related to night landing payments, capped flying hours, and changes in contracts have added to the frustration among pilots.
A pilot also shared concerns, saying, “It is okay for Indian carriers to hire expat top management people like CEOs and COOs but they have a problem with us going abroad to work.” He added that better work conditions and fair pay are needed to retain skilled pilots.
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