Who Are the 4 Inspectors Responsible for Over 6,000 Indigo Flight Cancellations? DGCA Dismisses FOI Officials

IndiGo is facing a serious flight cancellations crisis across India, and the aviation regulator DGCA is now under pressure as well. Four Flight Operations Inspectors overseeing IndiGo have been dismissed, even as passengers cope with large-scale disruptions linked to new Flight Duty Time Limit rules that took effect on 1 November 2025.

The four inspectors were on exclusive IndiGo duty, supervising pilot hiring, training, roster planning and readiness for Phase-2 FDTL norms. According to sources, DGCA removed them after IndiGo failed to recruit enough pilots to handle the stricter duty limits from November 2025, despite repeated reminders and formal warnings from the regulator.

Key regulatory action in IndiGo flight cancellations crisis

The DGCA order stated that all four officers were working on contract and would return to their original organisations. The order read: "With the approval of the competent authority, these FOIs working across various categories in DGCA are relieved with immediate effect." The move has raised questions about oversight quality, as the cancellations crisis escalated over nine difficult days.

The dismissed officers include Deputy Chief Flight Operations Inspector (Advisor) Rishi Raj Chatterjee, who handled IndiGo’s overall operational monitoring. Senior Flight Operations Inspector Seema Jhamnani, part of DGCA since September 2019, has over six years of experience in flight safety, risk management and ICAO-compliant surveillance, and is regarded within the regulator for leadership and professionalism.

Profiles and oversight gaps in IndiGo flight cancellations crisis

Flight Operations Inspector (Advisor) Anil Kumar Pokhariyal was responsible for tracking crew availability and rule compliance. Another Flight Operations Inspector (Advisor), Priyam Kaushik, joined DGCA in December 2024 after serving as Senior Commander at Air India, Senior Captain at IndiGo between 2019 and 2024, and Jet Airways from 2010 to 2019, with a BBA in Aviation from Army School, Hisar.

The government has described the situation as “mismanagement”, arguing that IndiGo did not plan its workforce for tougher FDTL standards. The new norms sharply reduced usable pilot hours and reshaped night duties, which then collided with winter schedules, causing large numbers of flight cancellations and leaving airports struggling to handle stranded passengers and disrupted connections.

New FDTL rules behind IndiGo flight cancellations crisis

The revised Flight Duty Time Limit package aims to improve fatigue management and overall safety. Key changes include a mandatory 48-hour weekly rest period, a defined night duty window from 12 AM to 6 AM, a cut from six to two permitted night landings, and a bar on more than two consecutive night shifts for pilots on regular schedules.

Other rules limit extra work before and after flying to one hour and require 24 hours of rest after ultra-long flights, such as those between Canada and the United States. For IndiGo, these shifts significantly reduced available pilot and cabin crew hours. The airline then struggled to keep its timetable intact, despite claiming technical problems, winter adjustments and new rostering systems were to blame.

The scale of IndiGo’s flight cancellations crisis has been stark. Between 1 and 9 December, 4,290 domestic flights and 64 international flights were cancelled. On 5 December alone, 1,588 domestic services, equal to 79% of IndiGo’s domestic schedule, and 35 international flights were scrapped, while routes such as Delhi–Bengaluru saw over 200 cancellations on 11 December.

The following table summarises the key operational impacts reported so far:

Regulators have rejected IndiGo’s public explanation that technical issues, adverse weather, winter schedule tweaks and roster changes alone caused the chaos. The government instead launched three major steps: a compulsory 10% daily reduction in IndiGo flights, the dismissal of the four inspectors, and reallocation of IndiGo’s airport slots to rival airlines willing to operate those timings.

DGCA has also stationed an eight-member oversight team at IndiGo’s Gurugram headquarters. This team monitors crew utilisation, refund processing and day-to-day operations. A separate four-member inquiry panel, including Joint DG Sanjay Brahmne and Deputy DG Amit Gupta, has been tasked with examining how planning failures, staffing gaps and oversight weaknesses combined to produce the widespread cancellations.

Pressure has increased on IndiGo’s senior leadership. CEO Peter Elbers and COO Isidro Porqueras were summoned for questioning by DGCA officials. After a two-hour session on Thursday, regulators ordered both executives to appear again on Friday at 2 PM, to answer further questions about operations, crew management, passenger refunds and compensation measures across the affected network.

Elbers said, "We were preparing for the new FDTL norms, but unexpected challenges created additional pressure." IndiGo has since announced a compensation framework. All passengers on cancelled flights are entitled to full ticket refunds and free rebooking. Those impacted by severe delays or cancellations between 3 and 5 December will receive a ₹10,000 travel voucher, valid for twelve months.

IndiGo has also promised ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 compensation where cancellations were communicated with less than 24 hours’ notice. Despite these offers, many passengers remain stranded at airports or adjusting disrupted plans. Opposition leader Karti Chidambaram remarked, "Along with the airline, DGCA and the Civil Aviation Ministry are equally responsible. Why was no impact study conducted?"

The episode has become a warning for Indian aviation on the cost of weak planning around safety reforms. DGCA has now instructed all airlines to speed up pilot recruitment, strengthen crew planning and comply strictly with FDTL rules, seeking to prevent a repeat of the IndiGo flight cancellations crisis as winter schedules and international expansion continue.