DGCA Cuts IndiGo’s Winter Schedule by 5%; Air India Likely to Gain Up to 70 Daily Slots
DGCA cuts IndiGo’s winter schedule by 5% after mass cancellations; freed slots likely to benefit Air India with 60–70 additional daily flights.
DGCA reduces IndiGo’s winter flights, opening key airport slots for Air India’s expansion.
In an unprecedented regulatory action, India’s aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has ordered IndiGo to slash its winter flight schedule by 5%, opening the door for rival carriers—particularly Air India—to claim dozens of prime airport slots.
The directive, issued on Tuesday, requires IndiGo to scale back flights across high-frequency and high-demand routes, after the airline cancelled more than 2,000 flights in a week due to severe crew shortages linked to the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms. IndiGo must submit its revised operations plan by 5 p.m. on December 10.
Regulator Calls Out “Inability to Operate Efficiently”
The DGCA noted that the airline had failed to demonstrate the operational capability to run its expanded winter schedule of 15,014 weekly flights, prompting the rollback.
The regulator directed IndiGo to:
Reduce flights by 5% across sectors
Cut frequencies on metro routes such as Delhi–Mumbai
Avoid operating single-flight sectors
Submit a revised schedule by the deadline
The move marks the first time the DGCA has formally used its authority to curtail an airline’s approved schedule.
Air India Stands to Benefit
The freed-up slots are expected to primarily benefit Air India, which has requested approval for 60–70 additional daily flights. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed the decision, stating that IndiGo’s schedule expansion would be rolled back to maintain stability in the sector.
Industry analysts believe the slot redistribution could:
Give Tata-owned Air India a temporary competitive edge
Help the airline expand on key duopoly routes
Limit IndiGo’s revenue impact to under 4%, since monopoly routes remain mostly untouched
IndiGo’s Expansion Now Reversed
IndiGo had increased its winter schedule from 14,158 to over 15,014 weekly flights, adding around 900 additional services for the 26 October–28 March 2026 season.
Air India, by comparison, currently operates 611 daily departures.
Experts Say the Move Was Long Overdue
Aviation specialists described the intervention as necessary, given the scale of IndiGo’s disruptions.
Mark D Martin, aviation safety expert, called it “the first instance of such regulatory action in India.”
Sanjay Lazar, aviation analyst, said the government should have curbed IndiGo’s schedule earlier to avoid prolonged chaos for passengers, adding that deeper structural reforms are needed to prevent monopolies.
The DGCA and civil aviation ministry have not yet officially commented on the order.
