The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a penalty of ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo Airlines for widespread flight disruptions reported in early December, which affected a large number of passengers across major airports in the country.
The aviation regulator said the disruptions were caused by shortcomings in operational planning and inadequate preparedness for revised flight duty time limitation norms for pilots. An internal review found lapses in crew rostering, scheduling systems and overall operational control, leading to mass cancellations and prolonged delays during a high-traffic travel period.
According to the DGCA, the penalty includes fines for violations of civil aviation requirements as well as additional charges for continued non-compliance over several days. The regulator also issued warnings to senior management, directing the airline to strengthen systems, improve coordination and ensure better resilience to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
IndiGo stated that it has addressed the issues highlighted by the regulator and initiated corrective measures to stabilise operations. The airline said refunds were processed for affected passengers and steps have been taken to improve reliability and operational efficiency going forward.
