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‘Mismanagement led to chaos’: What civil aviation minister said on IndiGo flight cancellations
Ram Mohan Naidu said IndiGo’s “mismanagement” triggered widespread delays and passenger chaos, even as other airlines adapted to FDTL rules without big issues.
Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday squarely blamed IndiGo’s handling of its crew roster, particularly in the context of the tightened Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms, for the massive disruption across major airports this week.
He said IndiGo’s “mismanagement” triggered widespread delays and passenger chaos, even as other airlines adapted to the new rules without major issues.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Naidu said the situation forced the Ministry to offer the airline temporary relief from certain FDTL norms to restore normal operations. Follow Indigo flight cancellation live updates
He was referring to the one-time exemption that allows IndiGo to temporarily sidestep the DGCA’s stricter night-duty and rest-hour rules until February 10, 2026, including those governing flights operating between 0000 and 0650 hours. The regulator has also withdrawn a clause that earlier barred airlines from counting pilot leave as part of their weekly rest.
Naidu underscored that the airline’s internal planning failed to keep pace with the changes. “From November 1, the DGCA came up with new FDTL (flight duty time limitation) regulations… Other airlines, including Air India and SpiceJet, have adjusted. However, what has unfolded is due to mismanagement by IndiGo regarding its crew.”
He added that the temporary relaxation was necessary to stabilise the network: “We have given certain abeyance regarding FDTL norms to IndiGo to ensure normalcy,” the news agency quoted Naidu as saying.
‘Whoever is responsible needs to pay’
The Minister said the government has constituted a committee to examine the breakdown in operations and determine accountability.
“Since we have observed this only with IndiGo, we have formed a committee which will inquire into all this so that they can establish where things went wrong and who did it wrong. We will take the necessary action on that as well… whoever was responsible for this needs to pay for it.”
Naidu said ensuring smooth operations and reducing passenger distress remains the government’s foremost concern.
He noted that the Ministry has been in continuous dialogue with stakeholders since IndiGo’s disruptions began on December 3, causing widespread delays and cancellations.
Ministry asked IndiGo to fix issues in two days
According to Naidu, the government initially instructed IndiGo to restore normalcy within 48 hours, but the delays persisted, prompting authorities to direct the airline to cancel a large number of flights to ease congestion.
“Initially, when a lot of delays happened… we told them to take all necessary steps to ensure normalcy within two days. However, we saw delays happening yesterday as well. Therefore, we told IndiGo to cancel major operations so that the inconvenience at the airport and the congestion due to delays are reduced.”
On Friday, operations focused on clearing a heavy backlog, with priority given to senior citizens and differently-abled passengers. The Minister said frontline staff must remain empathetic and communicate clearly with frustrated travellers.
“Today, we are seeing that the situation is getting better… From tomorrow, we are expecting normalcy to start in the sense that there won’t be any congestion, or there won’t be any waiting at the airports.”
'Gap in planning'
The DGCA has attributed the crisis to IndiGo’s “misjudgment and gap in planning” in implementing the new pilot duty rules. The Centre has directed all airlines to ensure timely refunds for affected travellers.
While the exemption aims to stabilise IndiGo’s schedules, the Airlines’ Pilots Association of India (ALPA) has criticised the decision, calling it a threat to safety and a worrying precedent that undermines established regulatory safeguards.
