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Centre invites airlines to submit preferences for IndiGo’s vacated slots
Slot preference, the ministry said, will be given to airlines that can demonstrate fresh capacity through additional aircraft, pilots, cabin crew, ground support equipment and maintenance engineers, and not merely by reshuffling existing flights.
The civil aviation ministry on Thursday invited airlines to submit requests and preferences to airport operators for the airport slots vacated due to IndiGo flight cancellations in December.
On December 9, 2025, the government had ordered a sharp 10% curtailment of IndiGo’s winter schedule following days of massive flight disruptions, stating that the airline’s internal mismanagement had caused severe inconvenience to passengers across the country. IndiGo’s winter schedule began on October 26, 2025, and will end on March 28, 2026. To be sure, IndiGo operated 2,200 flights daily before the curtailment.
According to an official order dated January 22, a slot coordination committee, chaired by joint secretary (airports) Rubina Ali, held its first meeting on January 13, during which the process and principles for redistribution were finalised.
The order stated that the vacated slots will be made available for use, subject to the ministry’s slot allocation guidelines and specified conditions. “Surrendered slots should not remain unutilised where additional capacity can be added,” the order stated.
It, however, did not specify a deadline for the airlines to apply for the available slots.
Slot preference, the ministry said, will be given to airlines that can demonstrate fresh capacity through additional aircraft, pilots, cabin crew, ground support equipment and maintenance engineers, and not merely by reshuffling existing flights.
Airlines will also be required to share details of operational preparedness, failing which allotted slots may be cancelled and reassigned, it stated, adding that the existing routes or sector connectivity cannot be discontinued to utilise the vacated slots.
“Airlines are requested to submit their requests and preferences, specifying adherence to above conditions, for the vacated slots, to the concerned Airport Operators. Thereafter, Airport Operators shall compile the requests received from airlines and forward the same to the committee for consideration,” the order stated.
The final allocation of slots, as per the order, will be decided by the Committee.
“Concerned stakeholders may be co-opted by the Committee during deliberations for the same, if required,” it said.
After the 10% curtailment, civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu had taken to X to post about the reduction of IndiGo’s slots. “....The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilizing the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding with it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before,” said Naidu.
Industry insiders, however, claimed that the free slots might not have a taker. “The slots that IndiGo have given up are mostly the red-eye flights, which are of no use. The slots vacated by IndiGo are not very significant,” one of them said. “IndiGo has not been leaving any prime slots which could be of any significance for the other players. Most of the slots, which they have vacated are mid-night or early morning slots, which do not offer a good yield,” another insider said.
