DGCA Issues Show-Cause Notice to IndiGo CEO Over Massive Flight Disruptions and Regulatory Violations

The DGCA cited IndiGo's failure to implement "adequate arrangements" as the main cause of the aviation crisis.

New Delhi:

India's aviation regulator has issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo's Chief Executive Officer, holding the executive directly responsible for an operational crisis that lasted a week, stranded thousands of passengers nationwide, and forced the airline to cancel nearly one thousand flights in a single day.

This notice represents one of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) most stringent interventions in recent years, following escalating public outrage over what officials have described as "massive disruptions resulting in severe inconvenience, hardship and distress to passengers."

According to the DGCA, the crisis primarily stemmed from IndiGo's failure to establish "adequate arrangements" for implementing revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) for pilots—changes that had been communicated months in advance and were effective from November 1. The regulatory body stated that the airline's inability to properly adjust its rosters and resources in time resulted in widespread cancellations, delays, crew shortages, and cascading disruptions across its network of 138 destinations.

"It has been observed that scheduled flights of M/s Indigo Airlines have recently faced massive disruptions resulting in severe inconvenience, hardship and distress to passengers," the notice stated.

"It has also been noticed that the primary cause of said flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL scheme for the airline."

The notice accuses IndiGo of failing to plan properly for revised duty and rest requirements for cockpit crew, non-compliance with Rule 42A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, violations of multiple Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) governing duty periods, and failing to provide information, assistance, or required facilities to passengers during cancellations and delays.

"As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airline," the document declares. "You have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to passengers."

The CEO has been directed to respond within 24 hours, or the regulator will "decide the matter ex parte," potentially leading to penalties ranging from financial sanctions to operational restrictions.

After five days of travel chaos, IndiGo claimed to have restored 95 percent of its network, operating to 135 of its 138 destinations by Saturday. The airline expected to operate more than 1,500 flights by the end of the day.

In a statement, IndiGo again apologized for the week's disruptions, stating it was "committed to build back the trust of our customers."

On Friday, nearly a thousand flights—marking the airline's worst single-day disruption—were cancelled. The carrier reported managing to operate "a little above 700 flights" that day while attempting what it described as a network-wide "reboot."

"The main objective was to reboot the network, systems, and rosters so that we could start afresh today with a higher number of flights, improved stability," an airline spokesperson explained.