How will DGCA’s 5 pc fleet-cut order to IndiGo impact fliers, flight sectors?

India’s aviation regulator has ordered IndiGo to cut its flights by 5 per cent across its network, a move that could ground roughly 110 flights a day from the country’s largest airline and marks one of the toughest operational penalties imposed on a domestic carrier in recent years.

What this means for passengers

For travellers, the immediate impact will be visible in reduced IndiGo frequencies on key metro and tier‑II routes, with some flights likely merged or rescheduled over the coming weeks. Passengers already booked on affected services are expected to be accommodated on alternative IndiGo flights or other carriers, though airport congestion and longer wait times may continue in the short term.

Focus on high‑demand routes

Under the order, IndiGo must trim 5 per cent of its flights “across sectors”, with a special focus on high-demand, high-frequency routes where multiple daily services give room to cut capacity without severing connectivity entirely. The regulator has also asked the airline to avoid routes where it operates a single daily flight, to prevent passengers on monopoly sectors from being left without options.

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The government has indicated that airport slots freed up by IndiGo’s pullback will be offered to rival airlines, aiming to protect connectivity and keep fares in check on busy corridors such as Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Bengaluru. Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu has described the 5 per cent cut as “strict action” and signalled that further reductions could follow if disruptions persist.

DGCA order and key numbers

In a notice dated December 8, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it had reviewed IndiGo’s approved Winter Schedule 2025 in the backdrop of “wide disruptions” and “massive cancellations” over the past weeks. The airline had been cleared to operate 15,014 departures per week, translating to 64,346 flights in November, but actually flew 59,438, with 951 cancellations during the month.

Also Read: IndiGo crisis: No airline can trouble passengers due to planning failures, says Naidu

IndiGo typically runs about 2,200–2,300 flights a day, so a 5 per cent reduction means roughly 110–115 services being cut daily from its roster. The carrier has been told to submit a revised schedule by 5 pm on December 10, giving it barely two days to reshape operations and rework crew and fleet deployment.

Why the regulator stepped in

The DGCA’s action follows days of chaos at airports, where hundreds of IndiGo flights were cancelled or delayed, leaving passengers stranded and triggering complaints in Parliament. Operational data showed that even after being allowed a 6 per cent expansion over its Summer Schedule 2025, IndiGo was unable to mount the fleet it had promised, operating 339 aircraft in October and 344 in November against an indicated 403.

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Regulators concluded that IndiGo had increased departures by 9.66 per cent over last winter and 6.05 per cent over this summer, but “had not demonstrated an ability to operate these schedules efficiently”. Authorities have also been probing the impact of new flight duty time limitation rules and crew-planning gaps, which the airline has partly blamed for the spike in cancellations.

Rare instance

Industry watchers say the move is a rare instance of the regulator directly cutting an airline’s schedule and reflects concern that aggressive expansion, coupled with staffing and regulatory pressures, has outpaced IndiGo’s ability to run a reliable operation.

The coming days will show whether the forced pullback stabilises India’s busiest airline ahead of the peak holiday travel period or triggers a wider reshuffle of market share in the skies.