Space To Breathe! Govt Eases Airlines Rules Amid IndiGo Flight Chaos

Air travel plans across India stayed disrupted as IndiGo cancelled more than 700 flights on Friday, taking cancellations this week to over a thousand. With queues at airports and growing passenger frustration, regulators moved quickly to tweak new crew rostering rules.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation stepped in after IndiGo chaos continued for a third straight day. The aviation regulator removed a controversial clause that stopped airlines from treating crew leave as weekly rest, aiming to ease staffing pressure on carriers.

DGCA order and IndiGo flights rule change

In its fresh order, effective immediately, the DGCA cited its earlier instruction that "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest". The watchdog confirmed that this part of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations rules had now been withdrawn for all airlines.

The regulator said airlines had jointly approached the DGCA, warning that the rule was hurting operations. Explaining the rethink, the order stated, "In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision,".

Operational impact on IndiGo flights and other carriers

The DGCA then clarified the outcome of that review. The order read, "The instruction that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,". Officials expect this partial relaxation of the Flight Duty Time Limitations to give airlines more room while planning crew rosters.

The immediate beneficiary is likely IndiGo, India's largest budget airline by market share. Crew shortages triggered by the new FDTL norms had already forced widespread cancellations and delays at major airports, hitting thousands of passengers who rely on IndiGo flights for domestic travel.

IndiGo currently carries more than 60% of domestic air travellers, so any disruption has a nationwide effect. Recent cancellations and delays across multiple hubs highlighted how sensitive airline operations are to rule changes around pilot and cabin crew scheduling.

The latest DGCA change does not remove the new FDTL framework but offers temporary breathing space.