The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered IndiGo to reduce its Winter 2025 schedule by 5 per cent after the airline failed to operate the number of flights it had cleared.
Therefore, the regulator directed IndiGo to submit a revised schedule by 5 pm on December 10, focusing on reductions on high-demand routes.
The directive followed a review of IndiGo’s approved Winter Schedule. As a result, authorities discovered significant gaps between the airline’s sanctioned capacity and its actual operations. IndiGo cleared 15,014 weekly departures totalling 64,346 flights in November 2025, yet operational data showed only 59,438 flights with 951 cancellations.
Furthermore, DGCA noted that IndiGo projected a fleet of 403 aircraft but operated only 339 in October and 344 in November. Although the airline increased departures compared to Winter 2024 and Summer 2025, regulators concluded that it failed to demonstrate efficiency.
Consequently, DGCA instructed IndiGo to trim schedules across sectors, avoid single-flight operations, and stabilise services. Meanwhile, the crisis worsened as IndiGo cancelled 180 flights from Bengaluru and Hyderabad on Tuesday alone, marking the eighth consecutive day of severe disruptions. On Monday, the airline cancelled more than 560 flights across six metro airports.
Later, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu confirmed the government will reduce IndiGo’s winter slots as a penalty. Additionally, he explained that the government will reassign curtailed routes to other domestic carriers until IndiGo proves operational readiness.
Finally, IndiGo, India’s largest airline with over 2,200 daily flights across 90 domestic and 40 international destinations, faces mounting pressure to restore reliability and reassure passengers.
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