IndiGo flight chaos: DGCA doubles carrier's curtailment to 10% from 5% after 951 cancellations in November

After the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered the airline to cut its approved winter schedule by 10%, doubling the earlier directive of a 5% reduction issued the same day. The aviation regulator said the decision was taken after IndiGo failed to demonstrate that it could operate its expanded schedule efficiently amid continued flight disruptions.

The DGCA had cleared 15,014 weekly departures for IndiGo under the Winter Schedule 2025, a period when travel demand typically spikes. For November alone, the regulator had approved 64,346 flights. However, operational data submitted by the airline shows that only 59,438 flights were actually flown, while 951 flights were cancelled during the month.

The regulator said the revised directive is based on a detailed review of IndiGo’s performance through the ongoing disruption phase.

“Whereas, as per the Winter Schedule (WS 2025) issued by DGCA, 15,014 departures per week were approved for IndiGo… however, it has been observed that the airline operated 59,438 flights during November 2025, with 951 cancellations,” the DGCA said.

The regulator also flagged capacity concerns. Despite being permitted a 6% increase in scheduled flights for Winter 2025—based on a projected fleet of 403 aircraft—IndiGo could operate only 339 aircraft in October and 344 aircraft in November. This shortfall in available fleet capacity directly contributed to the airline’s inability to meet its approved schedule.

“IndiGo has increased its departures by 9.66% compared to Winter Schedule 2024 and by 6.05% compared to Summer Schedule 2025. However, the airline has not demonstrated an ability to operate these schedules efficiently,” the DGCA noted.

Consequently, the aviation regulator has instructed IndiGo to reduce its schedule by 10% across sectors, with a special focus on high-frequency, high-demand routes. The airline has also been told to avoid single-flight operations on any route to minimise disruptions.

The directive comes hours after the Ministry of Civil Aviation summoned IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers over the ongoing cancellations and passenger dissatisfaction. The ministry had separately ordered a 10% curtailment of the airline’s operations earlier in the day.

In a post on X, Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said: "The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilizing the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before. Indigo has been instructed to comply with all the directives of the Ministry, including fare capping and passenger convenience measures without any exception." 

Winter Schedule 2025

In September, DGCA finalised the Winter Schedule 2025 (WS25) for domestic airlines, which was effective 26 October 2025 to 28 March 2026. Under the revised schedule, airlines were supposed to operate 26,495 departures per week to and from 126 airports, slightly higher than the 25,610 weekly departures approved from 129 airports in the Summer Schedule 2025 (SS25).

Airline-wise Weekly Departures (WS25)

Airline    Departures per week (WS25)
Alliance Air    520
Air India    4,277
AI Express    3,171
IndiGo    15,014
SpiceJet    1,568
Star Air    538
Fly Big    58
India One    126
Akasa Air    1,027
Fly91    196
Total    26,495