Delhi, India: India’s civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has imposed a ₹22.20 crore penalty on IndiGo Airlines following a comprehensive investigation into the airline’s widespread flight cancellations and delays in early December 2025 that affected hundreds of thousands of passengers across the country.
The enforcement order, issued after a detailed probe by a DGCA committee, found that operational and planning failures at India’s largest airline contributed significantly to the disruption. DGCA said between December 3 and 5, 2025, a total of 2,507 flights were cancelled and 1,852 flights were delayed, leaving more than 300,000 passengers stranded at key airports including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
According to the regulator’s inquiry, the airline’s operational strategy was “over‑optimised”, with inadequate buffer margins in crew and aircraft deployment, poor regulatory preparedness, shortcomings in planning software support, and systemic management and operational control weaknesses. IndiGo was also found to have failed in effectively implementing the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) and crew rest regulations that came into effect in late 2025.
The penalty comprises:
- ₹20.40 crore for continued non‑compliance with FDTL provisions over a 68‑day period from December 5, 2025 to February 10, 2026.
- ₹1.80 crore in one‑time penalties for multiple violations of Civil Aviation Requirements, including failure to ensure compliance with duty‑time limits, inadequate buffer margins and lapses in operational control.
In addition to the financial penalty, DGCA has also directed IndiGo to furnish a ₹50 crore bank guarantee under the IndiGo Systemic Reform Assurance Scheme (ISRAS). The guarantee will be released in phases only after DGCA‑verified implementation of reforms in leadership and governance, crew planning, digital systems and operational resilience.
The regulator issued warnings to senior executives, including CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras, for inadequate oversight of flight operations and crisis management. The Senior Vice President of Operations Control was ordered to be relieved of current responsibilities and barred from holding an accountable operational role.
The penalty, while among the largest ever levied by the DGCA for flight disruptions, has been widely criticised by pilots and passengers alike.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) labelled the fine “very meagre” and questioned why the regulator’s probe considered only a short window of cancellations, despite disruptions extending before and after the designated period. The pilots’ body also criticised the absence of personal accountability for senior officials within IndiGo or the DGCA itself and compared the penalty unfavourably with much larger fines imposed abroad for similar breaches.
“It (the DGCA report and subsequent action) is a joke. What is the concrete action taken here? They have not punished anyone. The Civil Aviation Minister said very strict action will be taken. Does the very strict action here mean only a warning? A warning is issued for smaller mistakes (not disruptions of such magnitude). In this case, there was a national crisis. And they have only issued a warning and moved just one OCC head, FIP president G S Randhawa told PTI.
He further added, the probe period itself is very limited. The disruptions happened well before and after the three days cited by the DGCA. The airline should be made accountable and a higher penalty should have been imposed. This action will not teach anyone any lesson, and nothing will prevent this from happening again.”
In response to the DGCA order, IndiGo stated that its board and management are taking the regulator’s findings seriously and are undertaking an in‑depth review of internal systems and procedures to strengthen operational resilience and prevent a recurrence.
