India’s aviation regulator has fined IndiGo Airlines 22.2 crore ($2.45 million) after the carrier cancelled thousands of flights during a major operational disruption in December 2025, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded across the country.
What led to the mass cancellations
The penalty follows a government investigation that found failures in planning, staffing and compliance with new pilot duty rules, marking one of the strongest regulatory actions taken against an Indian airline in recent years.
The disruption happened between Dec. 3 and 5, when IndiGo cancelled more than 2,500 flights and delayed nearly 1,900 others. Airports across India saw overcrowding and long queues as passengers struggled to find alternative travel options.
According to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the chaos was triggered by IndiGo’s poor implementation of new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules. The regulations, introduced to improve pilot rest and reduce fatigue, required changes to crew scheduling and operational planning.
The DGCA said IndiGo failed to adjust its systems and staffing levels in time. The airline was also found to be operating with minimal buffers, leaving it unable to recover once the disruption began. Investigators concluded that the problems were not caused by weather or external events but by internal management shortcomings.
Regulatory action and wider scrutiny
Following a four-member inquiry ordered by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the DGCA imposed the $2.45 million fine and issued formal warnings to IndiGo’s top management, including senior executives responsible for operations.
The regulator also directed the airline to submit a $5.5 million bank guarantee to ensure compliance with aviation safety and operational standards going forward while additional internal disciplinary action was ordered against managers found responsible for the failure.
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