DGCA slaps fine of Rs 22 crore on Indigo over massive flights disruptions in December
Between December 3 and 5, IndiGo cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed another 1,852, leaving more than three lakh passengers stranded at airports nationwide.
PTC News Desk: The civil aviation regulator DGCA has levied a penalty of ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo and initiated strict action against its senior leadership after an investigation uncovered major planning, operational and regulatory failures that contributed to the widespread flight disruptions in December 2025.
Between December 3 and 5, IndiGo cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed another 1,852, leaving more than three lakh passengers stranded at airports nationwide.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd — IndiGo’s parent company — confirmed receiving the DGCA’s orders and said in a statement that the board and management would carefully review them and take appropriate steps. The airline added that it has already begun a detailed assessment of its internal systems and procedures to strengthen its operational resilience after the disruptions, which occurred despite its otherwise strong 19-year track record.
A four-member DGCA inquiry panel, formed on the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s directives, found that the core issues included excessive optimisation of operations, poor regulatory readiness, weak software infrastructure and shortcomings in management oversight. The committee observed that IndiGo failed to maintain adequate operational buffers and did not properly implement the updated flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules. Crew scheduling relied heavily on dead-heading, tail swaps and extended duty periods, leaving little room for recovery and weakening operational stability.
Action Against IndiGo Leadership
DGCA issued a caution notice to IndiGo’s CEO for insufficient oversight and ineffective crisis management. The accountable manager (COO) was warned for not assessing the implications of the 2025 winter schedule and revised FDTL norms. The senior vice-president of the operations control centre was directed to be removed from current operational duties and barred from holding any accountable role. Further warnings were issued to the deputy head of flight operations, the AVP of crew resource planning and the director of flight operations for failures in supervision, workforce planning and roster management. IndiGo has been instructed to take action against others identified internally and file a compliance report with the regulator.
Breakdown of the Penalty
The DGCA imposed ₹1.80 crore in one-time fines for six separate breaches of Civil Aviation Requirements, including violations of FDTL rules, flawed operational control and inadequate management oversight. An additional ₹20.40 crore penalty — calculated at ₹30 lakh per day — was imposed for 68 days of continued non-compliance with the revised FDTL norms from December 5, 2025, to February 10, 2026, bringing the total penalty to ₹22.20 crore.