New Delhi: Even after temporary exemptions on pilot duty regulations expire, India’s biggest airline, IndiGo, has informed the aviation regulator that its flight operations will continue to be steady starting in February.
On Tuesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced that IndiGo had guaranteed sufficient crew availability and “no flight cancellations after February 10” on its presently authorized network.
The guarantee followed a review meeting on January 19 in response to several cancellations and delays that caused network disruptions for the airline in December.
IndiGo Operational Disruptions – December 2025: Regulatory Oversight and Stabilisation Measures@MoCA_GoI @Pib_MoCA pic.twitter.com/mhu4rHp5bG
— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) January 20, 2026
After February 10, there are no cancellations.
When the entire set of Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations are put into effect, IndiGo will have enough pilots to meet operational needs, according to the DGCA.
The airline informed the regulator that it now had around 2,400 captains available and would need about 2,280 by February 10. IndiGo stated that it had more than 2,240 first officers on staff and needs about 2,050.
In light of this, IndiGo promised the regulator that it would not cancel flights following the withdrawal of two temporary FDTL exemptions that were granted in December on February 10.
Why last year’s exemptions were granted to IndiGo
Following the implementation of the second phase of India’s updated pilot duty regulations in November, IndiGo experienced significant operational difficulties in early December.
More than 4,200 flights were canceled by the airline between December 1 and December 9 due to a lack of pilots required to enforce the more stringent regulations, which are intended to lessen crew tiredness and increase safety.
The DGCA subsequently claimed that inadequate crew planning, insufficient operational buffers, and flaws in systems and management controls were to blame for the disruptions.
What the new pilot duty regulations entail
The length of time pilots can fly or stay on duty is restricted under India’s updated FDTL regulations, particularly in the early morning hours (usually between 2 and 6 am), when tiredness concerns are at their peak.
Any task that falls between midnight and six in the morning is considered “night duty” under the regulations. Pilots may fly for up to eight hours during this time, stay on duty for up to ten hours, and typically make no more than two landings.
The final set of seven provisions went into force in November after the rules were implemented in stages.
The government intervenes to keep things stable.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA temporarily relaxed some duty restrictions till February 10 in order to assist IndiGo in recovering from the December disruption.
Regulators stationed inspectors and passenger facilitation teams at major airports and IndiGo’s operations control center at this time.
Reports on flight cancellations, pilot availability, standby crew usage, hiring and training plans, fleet preparedness, and remedial actions were to be submitted by the airline on a regular basis.
According to the DGCA, consistent regulatory monitoring and remedial measures have stabilized IndiGo’s business operations and increased service dependability.
The regulator did, however, note that it will keep a careful eye on the airline, paying particular attention to staff rostering, buffer availability, system resilience, and complete adherence to the updated pilot duty standards.
