DGCA withdraws weekly rest rule for pilots as IndiGo cancellations spiral

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday moved to ease the turmoil in India’s aviation sectors, withdrawing a key weekly-rest restriction for pilots in an effort to stabilise operations.

Amid IndiGo’s unprecedented wave of cancellations, the regulator revoked the earlier instruction that “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”, citing “ongoing operational disruptions” and representations from airlines facing severe rostering challenges. The withdrawal takes immediate effect, offering gives airlines a slight flexibility as they struggle to meet crew requirements under revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

The regulatory relaxation comes even as India’s largest airline, IndiGo, reels under a massive operational breakdown triggered by what authorities have called misjudgment and serious planning gaps. The airline cancelled over 400 flights on Friday, leaving passengers stranded for up to three days at airports across the country. Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India) President Sam Thomas had earlier alleged that the disruptions are artificially created to pressurise DGCA.

Airports saw chaotic scenes, with some passengers staging protests as delays stretched beyond 12 hours. Many travellers also complained of misplaced baggage as the crisis deepened. IndiGo, which operates roughly 2,300 flights daily with a fleet of more than 400 aircraft, has seen its punctuality collapse. On Time Performance fell to 19.7 per cent on Wednesday, slipping further from 35 per cent on Tuesday.

In a communication to the DGCA on Thursday, IndiGo admitted that the disruptions were largely due to inadequate planning while shifting to the second phase of the revised FDTL norms. The airline has warned of more cancellations until December 8, followed by a scheduled reduction in services as it attempts to stabilise crew rosters.

The carrier also informed the regulator that it expects operations to return to full stability only by February 10, 2026, and sought temporary relaxations in duty limitations for pilots to ease the strain.

At a high-level review meeting on Friday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu pulled up the airline for its handling of the crisis. He expressed displeasure over IndiGo’s failure to properly manage the implementation of the revised FDTL rules, despite having “ample time” to do so.

Against this backdrop, the DGCA’s latest circular seeks to provide airlines some operational breathing room. By withdrawing the bar on substituting leave for weekly rest, the regulator has opened a narrow window for carriers to reorganise pilot rosters without breaching compliance requirements.

The FDTL rules govern how long pilots can work, how many hours they may fly, the number of night landings allowed and the minimum rest they must receive. The DGCA revised these limits in January 2024 after examining fatigue reports and global best practices. Rolled out in two phases, the updated norms increase weekly rest, broaden the definition of night and impose tighter limits on night operations to curb fatigue-related safety risks.