DGCA may ask IndiGo to cut back till February, other airlines to increase flights: Report

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may instruct IndiGo to scale back its flight frequencies until February, following a pilot shortage that resulted in the cancellation of over 5,000 flights so far this month. The regulator's directive aims to stabilise operations during the busy winter season, which extends from the end of October to the end of March. 

According to a report in The Economic Times, the government has also brought in other airlines to compensate for the reduction in IndiGo's services as the industry prepares for further challenges linked to adverse winter weather.

IndiGo, which previously operated about 2,300 flights daily, may be required to cut as many as 300 flights per day for the winter schedule, the report added. Senior officials from the airline have been summoned by the DGCA on Monday to provide a plan detailing the number of flights that can be managed with the current pilot availability. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has called upon Air India and other domestic carriers to increase their flight frequencies to accommodate expected demand overflow, the report added. Other airlines like Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa Air have been asked to increase their number of flights, said a senior officer to the financial daily. 

To further alleviate the shortfall, Air India is deploying wide-body aircraft on domestic routes, allowing the carrier to transport more passengers per flight during this period.

IndiGo's recent schedule disruptions are attributed to new pilot rest requirements introduced by the DGCA to address pilot fatigue. The rules, rolled out in two phases this year, limit the number of landings pilots can undertake between midnight and 6 am. IndiGo's management conceded it had underestimated the number of pilots required under the updated guidelines, noting a shortfall of 65 captains against the needed 2,422.

A senior IndiGo official indicated the airline is likely to restore full operations only after three months, once recruitment and training are complete, the report stated. Over the past weekend, IndiGo managed to operate around 1,650 flights on Sunday, an improvement from 1,578 on Saturday.

Additionally, the DGCA has imposed fare caps to prevent price surges caused by reduced capacity. Airfares for journeys up to 500 km are now capped at Rs 7,500, while tickets for routes between 1,000 and 1,500 km, such as New Delhi – Mumbai, cannot exceed Rs 15,000, according to the regulator's latest order to airlines.