‘National crisis, token fine’: Pilots’ body rips into DGCA over IndiGo penalty

Mumbai: Pilots’ body FIP on Monday criticised aviation regulator DGCA for imposing a ‘very meagre’ penalty of Rs 22.20 crore on IndiGo for the large-scale flight disruptions that impacted lakhs of travellers in December, saying safety of passengers and aircraft cannot be ‘traded off’.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) questioned the flight cancellation period considered in the probe by the regulator, and said the penalty amount is “very, very meagre”. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday announced the enforcement actions after a detailed probe. It slapped penalties totalling Rs 22.20 crore on IndiGo for cancelling thousands of flights in early December, and warned airline CEO Pieter Elbers and chief operating officer Isidre Proqueras, besides ordering the removal of Senior Vice President for Operations Control centre (OCC) Jason Herter from his current position for non-compliance.

Between December 3 and 5, the DGCA said, 2,507 flights were cancelled, and 1,852 flights were delayed, impacting over 3 lakh passengers at airports across the country. The DGCA has imposed a total penalty of Rs 20.40 crore for the non-compliance for 68 days from December 5, 2025, to February 10, 2026. The amount translates to a Rs 30 lakh fine for each day during the period. DGCA cited over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness, along with deficiencies in system software support, as among the primary reasons for the disruptions.