NEW DELHI: Govt has put on hold the new flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms for pilots with “immediate effect for now” and expects normalcy in IndiGo operations to be restored by Dec 15.The aviation ministry’s decision came Friday when over 1,000 IndiGo flights — more than half its schedule — were cancelled, with none operating from Delhi, wreaking havoc on plans of lakhs of fliers. IndiGo is offering full waiver on cancellation /reschedule requests on travel from Dec 5 to 15. On Saturday, less than 1,000 flights are likely to be cancelled. The number will gradually fall.On Thursday — when its on-time performance touched its nadir at 8.5% — IndiGo had sought exemption from certain norms, such as the cap on number of night landings a pilot can make between midnight and 6am, to restore normalcy in Airbus A320 operations by Feb 10, 2026. Since that was a long way off, govt put Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s FDTL orders in abeyance.IndiGo m-cap wiped out by nearly 20,000 croreThe week-long flight operation disruptions in IndiGo has wiped out nearly Rs 20,000 crore worth of market value for Interglobe Aviations, the company that runs the airline. In past one week, the stock has fallen nearly 9% to Rs 5,371 on BSE at Friday’s close with the airlines major’s current market cap at nearly Rs 2.1 lakh crore now.From its Nov 28 close at Rs 5,904 on BSE, the stock had fallen to an intra-day low of Rs 5,266 during Friday’s session. However, after DGCA allowed the airlines some temporary leeway with crew management rules, the stock recovered some ground to close at Rs 5,371, market players said.While IndiGo’s stock suffered due to the ongoing crisis, the stock price of SpiceJet, one of its smaller competitors, gained. Friday SpiceJet stock price rallied 2.5% on BSE to close at Rs 31.Putting rule on hold in flyers’ interest, won’t compromise safety: GovtPutting on hold Friday its orders meant to ensure that pilots are not fatigued, thereby boosting flight safety, govt said the move will not compromise on safety of passengers. “This decision has been taken solely in the interest of passengers, especially senior citizens, students, patients and others who rely on timely air travel for essential needs… taken urgent measures to address the ongoing disruption in flight schedules, particularly those of IndiGo,” Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said.DGCA has constituted a four-member committee headed by a joint DG for a “comprehensive review and assessment of circumstances leading to operational disruption of IndiGo. Committee will identify accountabilities for failure and adequacy of subsequent mitigation measures being taken by IndiGo,” a govt statement said.
Passengers line up at an IndiGo Airlines ticket counter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad (AP photo)
Aviation authorities say all possible steps are being taken to stabilise IndiGo operations at the earliest. DGCA has offered its Airbus A320-type-rated flight operations inspectors (FOIs) to operate flights for IndiGo in an attempt to help the airline recover from its lowest operational point in over 19 years of existence. “FOIs operate a flight every month (to keep their licences valid). We have made this offer to IndiGo, they did not ask for it, to help it get back on its feet as quickly as possible,” said sources.A significant number of pilots for IndiGo and for some other Indian carriers are upset at losing their hard-earned right to a more humane roster. “Airlines treat us as mere cost-cutting items in their income and expenditure statements during their good days. When it fell on bad days last month, we helped as much as working at 120%. But that could not have gone on indefinitely as we remember how they treat us,” said many senior pilots.Sensing the simmering discontent, Naidu held meetings over video links with some pilot bodies and assured them that the exemption from the new FDTL was temporary. DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai issued an appeal to pilots’ associations as the aviation sector is under “significant stress”.“As we now approach fog season, peak holiday period, and marriage travel season, it is crucial that the industry prepares for even greater operational challenges. Passenger volumes are expected to rise sharply, and weather-related impacts may further complicate scheduling and flight safety. Given this situation, we earnestly request full cooperation of all pilot bodies, associations, and pilots across India,” Ahmed’s letter says.IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a video statement saying normalcy could return between Dec 10 and 15, while admitting the crisis had “shaken customers’ belief in IndiGo’s reliability, built over the last 19 years”.Exemptions will put safety at risk, says pilots’ bodyHours after govt relaxed key provisions of the new duty-and-rest norms to help IndiGo stabilise its pilot roster and flight operations, the Indian pilot community criticised the civil aviation regulator, demanding that the said dispensations be withdrawn immediately.The relaxations now allow IndiGo to roster its pilots for longer duty hours than permitted under Phase II of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, which came into effect on Nov 1 after a preparatory period of about two years. FDTL norms are mandatory regulatory limits that define the maximum duty hours and minimum rest periods that should be factored in when rostering pilots for duty so as to keep crew fatigue under check and maintain operational safety. Each country formulates its own FDTL based on specific operational realities and scientific studies.In a strongly worded letter to DGCA, Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) said selective exemptions compromise safety and undermine the intent of the rules. The union also sought a probe into what it termed an “artificial pilot-shortage narrative” created by IndiGo, punitive action against the airline’s accountable management, and full enforcement of Phase II of the FDTL without exemptions. Airlines in India adopted Phase II of FDTL on Nov 1.The dispensations have destroyed regulatory parity, undermined public trust in DGCA’s neutrality, compromised scientifically established fatigue protections, and placed millions of passengers at heightened risk, said ALPA. Aviation safety expert Capt Amit Singh said the changes bypass the established procedure for exemptions. “These are ad hoc changes. There was no pilot representation before these changes were made,” he said, adding that exemptions must follow safety risk assessments in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation norms.Meanwhile, ALPA’s strongest objection pertained to changes in night operations; relaxation of the definition of night (midnight to 5am was extended in the new FDTL to midnight to 6am) and doubling of permitted landings “encroaching night” — the return to the 5am definition means that a pilot rostered for, say, 5.30am, will not be considered as flying night operations — from two to four, contradicting the revised FDTL and “fundamentally diluting” fatigue protections.DGCA has effectively acknowledged that IndiGo pilots will now fly with reduced rest and increased fatigue, placing passengers at higher risk, it said. It referred to a Nov 24 meeting ALPA had with DGCA in which it was “unequivocally agreed” that no dispensation, exemption or variation, especially for commercial reasons, would be granted to any operator. “FDTL norms exist solely to safeguard human life, and any dilution would expose pilots, passengers, and aircraft to unacceptable risks,” it said.The association questioned why widespread disruptions surfaced 35 days after Phase II came into force: IndiGo had nearly two years to prepare for the Nov 1 implementation of Phase II of revised duty and rest rules for pilot rostering. “These events raise serious concerns that an artificial crisis was engineered to exert pressure on govt for commercial gain under the pretext of public inconvenience.”ALPA warned that if the dispensations are not revoked, DGCA, and not pilots, must bear responsibility for any fatigue-related incident arising from the relaxations.
