Over 1,000 Flights Cancelled, Lakhs of Flyers Stranded: DGCA Forms 4-Member Panel to Probe IndiGo’s Operational Failure

New Delhi: Aviation watchdog Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday set up a 4-member committee to carry out a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to IndiGo airlines massive flight disruptions, leading to over 1,000 flight cancellations alone on Friday, leaving over 2.5 lakh passengers stranded at major Indian airports.The panel members are Joint Director General Sanjay K Bramhane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector Captain Kapil Manglik and Flight Operations Inspector Captain Rampal, as per an order on Friday.The 4-member committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the DGCA within 15 days to enable necessary regulatory enforcement action and ensure

institutional strengthening, the order said.According to the order, prima facie, the situation indicates deficiencies in internal oversight, operational preparedness, and compliance planning, "warranting an independent examination".

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IndiGo Flight Mismanagement Despite DGCA's Repeated Directions

The DGCA said it has issued repeated directions and advance instructions from time to time to the airline for having timely preparation to implement the provisions related to the FDTL norms.The regulator observed the airline's inability to accurately forecast crew availability, conduct timely training, and realign rosters despite advance regulatory intimation resulted in cascading delays and cancellations across its network beginning late November 2025 leading to non-adherence of the directions.Subsequently, the watchdog held a review meeting with IndiGo wherein the airline acknowledged that it has failed to anticipate the actual crew requirement under the revised norms and that significant planning and assessment gaps existed in implementing Phase-II of FDTL CAR 2024, as per the order.

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New Flight Duty Norms Implemented in Two Phases

The Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) pertaining to FDTL was implemented in two phases -- the first phase came into force from July 1 and the second from November 1."This shortfall directly contributed to large-scale disruptions, with cancellations reaching 170-200 flights daily, severely affecting network integrity and passenger convenience. Where it was noticed in the month of November the flight cancellations of IndiGo were maximum vis-a-vis other airlines," the order said.

IndiGo's Worst Ever Operational Crisis

IndiGo, which controls about two-thirds of the country's domestic traffic and generally operates around 2,300 flights daily, cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday. The airline had cancelled over 550 flights on Thursday. Together in the last 3-4 days, the airline has cancelled nearly 1800 flights.The situation caused chaos at major airports across the country, with frustrated passengers scrambling for updates and searching for their baggage. Many passengers vented out their anger on social media, and airfares also sailed northwards for many routes.With inputs from PTI