The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday, December 5, revoked a January 20 directive that barred airlines from substituting any form of leave for a pilot’s mandatory weekly rest period.
The rollback comes at a time when IndiGo is facing severe operational disruptions, with hundreds of flights cancelled over the past few days due to acute crew shortages.
In its new order, the regulator said the earlier restriction had been reviewed “in view of the ongoing operational disruptions” and following representations from multiple airlines seeking flexibility to stabilise operations.
“Whereas, in view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision,” the DGCA stated.
“Now, therefore, the instruction contained in the referenced paragraph that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,” the order added.
The immediate pressure point is IndiGo, which has been forced to cancel a large number of flights as it struggles with pilot availability under the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.
Planning gaps ahead of the second phase of the new fatigue-management rules, enforced from November 1, have resulted in a mismatch between crew strength and roster requirements, triggering cascading disruptions across the airline’s network.
However, the regulator’s decision has triggered strong criticism from pilot associations and social media users, who allege that the rollback compromises safety.
Pilot bodies demanded immediate withdrawal of the relaxations, while several voices on X, including journalists Swati Chaturvedi and Snehesh Alex Philip, flagged concerns over passenger safety.
Stand-up comedian Abijit Ganguly accused IndiGo of orchestrating a “planned strike” to pressure the government into easing the rules.
The crisis has grown sharply: on Friday alone, over 500 flights were cancelled, including all domestic departures from Delhi until midnight.
The new FDTL framework increased weekly rest for pilots from 36 to 48 hours, reduced night landings from six to two, and limited consecutive night duties to two per week. These changes, effective November 1, have disproportionately affected IndiGo due to its large number of night flights and high aircraft utilisation.
Facing public backlash, IndiGo issued an apology on Friday.
“The last two days have seen widespread disruption across IndiGo’s network and operations. We extend a heartfelt apology to all our customers and industry stakeholders who have been impacted by these events. IndiGo teams are working diligently and making all efforts with the support of MOCA, DGCA, BCAS, AAI and airport operators to reduce the cascading impact of these delays and restore normalcy. We continue to keep our customers apprised of any changes to their scheduled flights and advise them to check the latest status at https://goindigo.in/check-flight-status.html before heading to the airport. IndiGo deeply regrets the inconvenience caused and remains focused on streamlining its operations at the earliest,” the airline firm said on X.
