India’s aviation regulator orders IndiGo to cut flights by 5% as the airline says its schedule is back to normal after days of chaos.
NEW DELHI: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, says its operations have stabilised after days of chaos triggered by a new pilot rest policy.
The airline stated its on-time performance is back to normal levels. It operated over 1,800 flights on Tuesday and planned nearly 1,900 for Wednesday.
However, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ordered the airline to cut its planned flights by 5%.
The DGCA said IndiGo had “not demonstrated an ability to operate these schedules efficiently.”
The disruption began last week after the new pilot rest rules took effect.
IndiGo admitted “misjudgement and planning gaps” in adapting to the rules led to an operational meltdown.
The rules, designed to give pilots more rest and enhance safety, have since been suspended.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told parliament a “detailed enforcement investigation” into the disruption had begun.
“No airline, however large, will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures,” Naidu said.
He emphasised that “safety in civil aviation is completely non-negotiable.”
The crisis poses a major challenge for IndiGo, a budget carrier renowned for its punctuality.
The disruption occurred in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, which saw 500,000 daily flyers last month for the first time.
