IndiGo, India’s Largest Airline, Melts Down, Over New Pilot Fatigue Rules

IndiGo has historically been known for being incredibly operationally reliable, and it’s one of the things that has allowed the carrier to become the largest in India. However, the airline is having a meltdown of epic proportions, and unfortunately the carrier’s lack of planning is to blame. This is really rough…

IndiGo cancels thousands of flights, with no end in sight

IndiGo has today canceled more than 1,000 flights, including all flights out of its New Delhi (DEL) hub. This is the fourth day of operational issues for the airline, though it’s expected that today will be the worst. For what it’s worth, IndiGo has 65% domestic market share in India, and operates around 2,300 flights per day.

So, what’s going on here? The core issue relates to new pilot fatigue rules. Indian regulators have progressively been introducing stricter regulations that require longer rest periods for pilots, and place more restrictions on nighttime flying. IndiGo operates a massive number of flights, and also does a lot of nighttime flying, so obviously the airline is greatly impacted by these rule changes.

The thing is, the airline had lots of time to prepare for this. The first round of restrictions were implemented as of July 1, 2025, and the second round of restrictions were implemented as of November 1, 2025. So why would that suddenly be causing a meltdown now, several weeks later? It seemingly comes down to a few factors.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has internally blamed the meltdown on technology glitches, schedule changes, adverse weather conditions, heightened congestion, and the implementation of the new rules.

However, it’s pretty clear that IndiGo’s lack of planning for new pilot rest requirements is the primary issue here, and regulators have outright stated that the primary cause was misjudgment and planning gaps on the part of the airline.

IndiGo expects that operations will progressively improve starting tomorrow (Saturday, December 6, 2025). Initially the airline stated that it wouldn’t be able to fully resume normal operations until February 2026. However, regulators have decided to relax the new crew rest requirements for pilots for the time being, and the airline now hopes to resume normal operations between December 10 and December 15, 2025.

This is a really embarrassing meltdown for IndiGo

First of all, it’s really incredible to see how IndiGo got itself into this situation. While IndiGo has historically been a low cost carrier, the company has long been very well run, with leadership valuing safety and reliability over everything else.

So to see the airline misjudge this situation so badly is really shocking. And worst of all, this is something that can’t be fixed overnight. Fortunately regulators have relaxed the rules for the coming weeks, but otherwise, the only options are either to park planes (requiring flights to be cut) or to increase pilot hiring (which can’t happen overnight).

I also have to say that it’s really awful to see the scenes coming out of Indian airports. You have all kinds of passengers stranded for extended periods of time, with minimal information or help provided by the airline. By all accounts, the carrier’s handling of this situation has been abysmal. So it’s not just the meltdown in the first place, but also how the airline responded. As you’d expect, with increased scrutiny from regulators and the media, the airline is now taking this a lot more seriously.

For those who are stranded, though, please remember that the frontline employees aren’t in any way at fault for what’s going on. Trust me, they’re suffering as much as anyone, and they weren’t the ones who made the decisions that caused these outcomes.

I get that they’re the people in customer facing roles, but please treat them with respect. It seems that it’s pure chaos at many Indian airports, with people shouting endlessly at staff. The frustration is warranted, but misdirecting it is just bad for everyone.

Bottom line

IndiGo is having one of the worst airline meltdowns that we’ve ever seen, with over 1,000 flights canceled today alone. These operational issues stem from India’s new pilot fatigue rules, which the airline obviously hadn’t properly planned for.

While these rules had been implemented several weeks ago, the operation melted down now due to a variety of operational factors. So clearly the airline was planning staffing based on a best case scenario situation, when that never ends well for airlines.

What do you make of this IndiGo meltdown?