Explained: Will IndiGo get a relaxation of pilot duty norms?

In a major setback for travellers, IndiGo has cancelled all flights operating out of Delhi airport until midnight, disrupting a total of 235 services. The abrupt halt at one of the country’s busiest hubs has left hundreds of passengers stranded.

Sources said the large-scale cancellations stem from ongoing operational challenges. More than 220 flights had already been scrapped earlier in the day, and the latest update confirms that the airline has now grounded all remaining departures from Delhi for the rest of the day.

Business Today answers some of the questions travellers are asking frequently:

Q. What is the way forward?

Keeping in mind the disruption caused at various airports due to flight cancellations, the airline is likely to submit requests for required Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) relaxations for DGCA evaluation along with a detailed roadmap for crew recruitment and aircraft induction.

The DGCA has asked IndiGo to provide plans for crew training, revised rostering, safety risk assessments, and mitigation steps. The airline has also been asked to present an operational stabilisation plan outlining immediate measures to reduce cancellations and file fortnightly progress reports covering crew availability, operational metrics, and schedule stability.

Q. When will the situation normalise?

The airline said cancellations would continue for the next two to three days as it attempts to stabilise its schedule. Starting December 8, IndiGo will cut back on flight operations to reduce passenger inconvenience. IndiGo has sought temporary operational exemptions from specific FDTL clauses relating to night duty definitions and operations encroaching night hours for A320 aircraft until February 10, 2026. It committed to restoring normal operations till then.

Q. What are the new norms?   

The weekly rest period for pilots has been increased to 48 hours from 36 and night landings have been limited to two from six earlier, while the definition of night hours has been extended by an hour. Aimed at combating pilot fatigue, this caused additional constraints on the airline’s operations. Initially to be implemented from June 2024 but was delayed following pressure from airlines as they argued that it would require more crew strength. Following the Delhi High Court order, the rules were rolled out in two phases in July and November 2025.

Q. Why is IndiGo impacted the most?

IndiGo’s model of high crew and aircraft utilisation with 400 aircrafts flying 2,300 daily flights, with a significant number of late night and wee hour flights, led to the crisis. Delay in aircraft delivery and refit has made other airlines operate at lower-than-optimal aircraft utilisation, giving them flexibility in crew rostering.

Q. What are the global norms?

New norms are nearly at par with the regulations established by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)—both of which derive their frameworks from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) foundational principles.