Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: IndiGo will, from Wednesday (Feb 11), operate flights as per the requirements of the new safety-enhancing flight duty norms for pilots. The dispensation given by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to the airline from following the flight duty time limitation (FDTL) for its Airbus A320 family pilots lapsed on Tuesday. The same was given in early Dec 2025, to enable the airline’s collapsed schedule to recover as IndiGo had cancelled thousands of flights that months affecting lakhs of flyers in the peak travel month.“IndiGo has informed DGCA that it shall be fully prepared to comply with the statutory provisions and to implement the approved FDTL Scheme upon expiry of the exemptions. IndiGo has further stated that all necessary operational, rostering, and monitoring arrangements are being put in place to ensure full compliance with the approved FDTL scheme with effect from Feb 11, 2026,” the DGCA said in a statement on Wednesday.Sharing a “status update”, the regulator said the onetime exemption was given to IndiGo on Dec 5, 2025, “in view of the massive flight disruptions faced by the airline during the initial days of Dec 2025… with a view to stabilising flight operations and safeguarding passenger safety and interest.” The dispensation was “for a limited period only valid up to Feb 10, 2026.”“The… exemptions were granted subject to specified conditions (like) submission of hourly flight operations data to DGCA and weekly/fortnightly reports on operational performance. During the validity of the exemptions, IndiGo flight operations were monitored closely through periodic review meetings with DGCA. Further, DGCA officers were deployed at various airports to oversee passenger handling and address passenger inconvenience. In addition, Flight Operations Inspectors (FOls) were positioned at IndiGo Operations Control Centre for real-time monitoring of flight operations, ensuring continuous regulatory oversight during the exemption period,” the statement added.
