India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has withdrawn a key provision of the newly implemented Flight Duty Time Limitations rules in an attempt to stabilise airline operations during an unprecedented collapse of IndiGo’s flight schedules.
The rule that was rolled back stated that “no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest”.
The DGCA said the decision takes effect immediately.
This is the second major adjustment to the FDTL norms within 24 hours.
On Thursday night, the regulator extended the maximum permissible consecutive flying hours for pilots from 12 to 14. The updated FDTL norms were introduced in two phases that began on July 1 and November 1, and they increased the mandatory weekly rest requirement for pilots from 36 to 48 hours.
Airlines have struggled to meet these higher manpower needs, especially during the ongoing holiday and wedding travel period.
In its statement, the DGCA said the rollback was necessary in view of significant operational disruptions and after airlines warned of continuing instability. The regulator has also granted temporary exemptions for night-time flight operations until February 10. Airlines must undergo a review every 15 days and submit a 30-day roadmap demonstrating how they intend to return to full compliance with the rules.
Under the withdrawn rule, pilots on earned leave could not have that leave counted as part of their mandatory weekly rest. With the rollback, leave can once again be counted as weekly rest. For example, if a pilot takes 48 hours of earned leave, those 48 hours will also be considered weekly rest for rostering purposes.
The regulatory changes came as IndiGo, India’s largest airline with more than 2,200 daily flights, suffered a major operational collapse.
Nearly 1,300 flights have been cancelled in the past four days. On Thursday alone, IndiGo cancelled 550 flights, the highest number in a single day in its history.
The airline later admitted it had misjudged the number of pilots required under the revised rules. Pilots listed as “on duty” in earlier rosters were unable to fly due to the new rest requirements, instantly creating a shortage.
The crisis deepened on Friday morning when Delhi airport cancelled all outbound IndiGo flights until midnight, though DGCA officials later said flights had been cancelled only until 3 pm. Chennai airport also cancelled IndiGo flights to major cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad until 6 pm. Thousands of passengers were left stranded at airports, many without information, food, or water.
IndiGo issued another apology on Friday evening and said it would take time to restore operations. Its on-time performance plunged to 19.7 percent on December 3, and shares of its parent company InterGlobe Aviation fell from 5883 rupees to 5415 rupees by Friday afternoon.
Amid the crisis, a purported open letter from IndiGo employees circulated widely online. The letter criticises top management and claims frontline staff have been used as “leverage in a regulatory standoff”.
The letter claimed that the operational collapse was allowed to escalate in a way that exerted pressure on the government for extension or relaxation.
They also said that the staff facing passenger and public anger were not responsible for the decisions that led to the crisis. "We did not design rosters. We did not freeze hiring. We did not delay preparedness. Yet we carried the entire public cost."
Employees demanded that the management take public ownership of the planning failure and exonerate the frontline staff.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said the airline “could not live up” to its promise of reliability and blamed the disruptions on the FDTL changes, technical issues, airport congestion, and weather conditions.
The DGCA has also asked pilot bodies for cooperation as delays continue.
IndiGo has warned that disruptions will persist until at least December 8.