In December 2025, IndiGo faced massive flight disruptions, with thousands of flights cancelled and delayed. Following this, India’s civil aviation regulator, the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), investigated the issue and imposed a penalty of ₹22.20 crore on the airline. Scroll down to know more.
DGCA Imposes Penalty On IndiGo
The DGCA has imposed a total penalty of ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo and issued strict warnings to its senior leadership. This action has been taken after thousands of delays and cancellations between December 3 and December 5, 2025. According to NDTV, during this period, 2,507 flights were cancelled, and 1,852 flights were delayed. Due to this, over three lakh passengers were stranded across India.
The DGCA’s total penalty of ₹22.20 crore includes two parts. A one-time fine of ₹1.80 crore was imposed for six violations of Civil Aviation Requirements, including breaches of FDTL rules, weak operational control, and management lapses. In addition, the airline was fined ₹20.40 crore for 68 days of continued non-compliance, from December 5, 2025, to February 10, 2026, calculated at ₹30 lakh per day.
On the instructions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the DGCA formed a four-member inquiry committee. During the investigation, the committee found problems in how IndiGo planned and managed its operations. The report revealed that the airline operated too many flights with very tight schedules and did not maintain much-needed backup plans. It also pointed out weak preparation for regulatory changes, faulty software systems, and weak supervision by senior management.
The airline also failed to keep enough backup time and resources to handle unexpected situations and did not fully follow the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation rules. Crew schedules focused on maximum utilisation, with frequent dead-heading, aircraft swaps, and long duty hours.
Issues Warning To Top Management
The DGCA issued a caution to the IndiGo CEO for weak overall oversight and poor crisis handling. NDTV reported that it also issued a warning to the COO, who is the accountable manager, for not properly assessing the impact of the winter schedule and the revised FDTL rules.
The regulator ordered that the Senior Vice President of the Operations Control Centre be removed from current operational responsibilities and not be assigned any accountable position. It also issued warnings to the Deputy Head of Flight Operations, the AVP of Crew Resource Planning, and the Director of Flight Operations for poor supervision and workforce planning. IndiGo has also been asked to provide a ₹50-crore bank guarantee under the new IndiGo Systemic Reform Assurance Scheme.
We hope IndiGo’s flight operation runs smoothly!
Also Read: 16 Flights Cancelled At Delhi Airport Due To Dense Fog; IndiGo, Air India Issue Advisories
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