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Indigo Airlines, which is struggling with operational pressure, has planned to give a New Year gift to its pilots. The company has taken a decision regarding increase in allowances. The new rules will be implemented from next year i.e. 1 January 2026. Along with this, there will be an increase in the allowances of pilots. This decision has been taken after the recent operational problems faced by the company and the dissatisfaction of the pilots.

Pilots will get more allowance while on duty than before

Under the new decision of the company, now pilots will get more allowance while on duty than before. For example, if a pilot stays in another city, he will get more carry over allowance than before. Now the Captain will be given Rs 3000 and the First Officer will be given Rs 1500. Earlier this amount was less. These have been increased.

Pilots doing night duty will also get benefits

According to the company’s new order, pilots doing night duty will also benefit. On duty from 6 pm to 6 am, the Captain will get Rs 2000 and the First Officer will get Rs 1000. Apart from this, if a pilot has to change aircraft during the same duty, then a separate allowance will be given for that also.

According to sources, under FDTL rules, strict provisions regarding duty, rest and flying time of pilots are being implemented. Earlier, some allowances were cut by IndiGo due to which there was resentment among the pilots. Now the company has taken a partial U-turn and increased the allowances so that the impact on the take-home salary of the pilots is reduced and operational stability is maintained.

Now you will get increased salary

• Under Domestic Layover Allowance, the salary for aircraft captains has been increased from ₹ 2000 to ₹ 3000. The same allowance for First Officer has been increased from ₹1000 to ₹1500.
• Deadhead Allowance Captain earlier used to get ₹ 3000 per hour, now it has been increased to ₹ 4000. The First Officer used to get this allowance of Rs 1500, which has been increased to Rs 2000 per hour.
• Under Night Allowance, now the Captain will get an allowance of ₹ 2000 per hour, while the First Officer will get ₹ 1000 per hour.

Due to the operational crisis of the country’s largest airline IndiGo, passengers are suffering due to flight cancellations and delays. Meanwhile, the government data presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (December 11, 2025) presented a worrying picture of the Indian aviation sector. Despite the continuously increasing demand, this industry is currently immersed in massive losses.

Only Indigo is profitable
According to the written reply given by the Civil Aviation Ministry, IndiGo was the only major airline to make profit in the financial year 2024-25. The company registered a profit of Rs 7,253 crore during this period. In contrast, government airline Air India suffered a loss of Rs 3,976 crore, Air India Express Rs 5,832 crore, Akasa Air Rs 1,986 crore and Alliance Air suffered a loss of Rs 691 crore. SpiceJet also remained in loss and recorded a loss of Rs 56 crore. The small-scale operator Star Air was an exception, earning a modest profit of Rs 68 crore.

old series of losses
This economic crisis is not new. In the financial year 2022-23, Indian Airlines had incurred a collective loss of more than Rs 18,600 crore. Air India alone lost Rs 11,387 crore, while IndiGo also suffered a loss of Rs 316 crore. Although Indigo made a strong comeback in the next financial year 2023-24 and registered a profit of Rs 8,167 crore, other companies could not get out of the quagmire of losses. Air India suffered a loss of Rs 4,444 crore and SpiceJet suffered a loss of Rs 404 crore.

Demand increased, but debt and cost increased problems
This is the situation when the number of people flying in the country is continuously increasing. In the financial year 2024-25, the number of domestic passengers increased by 7.7% to 16.55 crore. Despite this, airlines are stuck in a cycle of heavy debt, high operating costs and low margins. For this reason, new players are afraid to enter the market, while the demand is continuously touching record levels.

Passengers troubled by Indigo crisis, lack of options increases difficulties
The recent operational crisis of IndiGo, which has about 65% domestic market share, has shaken the entire system. Thousands of flights had to be canceled due to severe crew shortage and new duty-time regulations. Competing airlines are already facing financial crisis, hence passengers are left with very limited options. As a result, crowding at airports is increasing, fares are skyrocketing and passenger dissatisfaction is also increasing.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now in the court docket on allegations of not implementing safety rules regarding pilot fatigue. Delhi High Court can hear the contempt petition of Federation of Indian Pilots on 15 December. In the petition, DGCA has been seriously accused of deliberately disobeying the clear and binding orders of the court.

Claim of Federation of Indian Pilots FDTL rules not implemented

The Federation of Indian Pilots claims that non-proper implementation of flight and duty time limitation rules has directly affected the safety of passengers. According to the pilots organization, this negligence became the main reason for the aviation crisis that has been going on for the past one week, due to which big airlines like IndiGo had to face operational crisis and thousands of flights across the country were canceled or delayed.

Federation of Indian Pilots DGCA accused of

In the petition filed in the Delhi High Court, it has been said that the DGCA had assured the High Court this year that the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) 2024 would be implemented on time, but on the contrary, the airlines were given the freedom to relax the rules and extend the time. All this was done without the permission of the court, whereas it was promised that the rules would be fully implemented by November 1. FIP alleged that the FDTL framework prepared by the airlines does not match the standards on which the DGCA had agreed before the High Court in April 2025. This has been described as a direct disobedience of the court’s orders.

Pilots and crew present in sufficient numbers – Pilot Organization

The pilot organization has also completely rejected the claim of shortage of pilots in the Delhi High Court. It has been said in the petition that there are sufficient number of pilots and crew present in the sector, but the airlines are not putting them on duty at full capacity. Despite pilots being available for regular roster duties, they are being placed on flexible contracts with limited flying hours. During the hearing held last month, the High Court had allowed FIP to file additional documents and made it clear that if the orders are not followed, strict action can be taken for contempt.

Delhi High Court car Orders were given even before implementation of 2024

The Delhi High Court had earlier cleared the way for the implementation of CAR 2024 by disposing of the petitions of pilot organizations and directed the airlines to submit their FDTL plans to the DGCA within three weeks. The court had clearly said that ignoring the rules will not be accepted in future. The government had assured the court that the new FDTL rules would be implemented in a phased manner. At the same time, 15 provisions will be implemented from July 1, 2025 and the remaining 7 provisions will be implemented from November 1, 2025. Now DGCA will have to answer before the court on the implementation of these promises and orders.

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A meeting was held in the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) with the top management of Indigo Airline on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) regarding the IndiGo crisis in India. In this meeting, along with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Ministry Secretary Sameer Sinha was also present. In the meeting, the ministry called Peter Elbers, CEO of Indigo Airline and took a complete update on the Indigo crisis from him.

Indigo’s internal irregularities like crew roster, flight schedule and poor information giving were the main issues discussed in the meeting. Apart from this, the status of the major inconvenience to the passengers was also known. At the same time, during the meeting, IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers was seen with folded hands in front of Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu.

In the meeting, it was said by the company that 100% refund of the flights for which refunds were to be made till December, was completed. On which strict instructions have been given to complete the remaining refund and delivery of bags quickly. The ministry said that it is necessary to reduce IndiGo’s flights for some time so that operations can be stabilized and the number of canceled flights can be reduced.

Ministry gave orders to Indigo in the meeting

On behalf of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Indigo Airlines has been ordered to follow all the instructions like rules related to fare control and passenger convenience without any exception. Apart from this, Indigo was also ordered to cut 10% routes. Despite this, Indigo will cover all its destinations as before.

During the last week, many passengers faced severe inconvenience due to Indigo’s internal mismanagement of crew rosters, flight schedules and inadequate communication. While the inquiry and necessary actions are underway, another meeting with Indigo’s top management was held to… pic.twitter.com/yw9jt3dtLR

— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) December 9, 2025

The ministry said that we had said on Monday (December 8, 2025) that Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu can call Indigo Airline CEO Peter Elbers and meet the ministry on Tuesday (December 9, 2025). Now IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers will once again attend a separate meeting organized by DGCA tomorrow on Wednesday (December 10, 2025).

What did the company say in the meeting,

Ahead of the meeting in the ministry with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, IndiGo announced on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) that after the operational crisis of IndiGo that continued for more than a week, now all flights are operating normally again. Its on-time performance has returned to normal levels and the company plans to operate around 1,900 flights on Wednesday (December 10, 2025).

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IndiGo Airlines Crisis: Irregularities in Indigo Airlines flights continued for the eighth day. On Tuesday, the airline canceled a total of 422 flights from six major airports of the country. According to PTI report, out of these canceled flights, 152 flights were canceled at Delhi airport alone and 121 flights were canceled at Bengaluru. 58 flights in Hyderabad, 41 in Mumbai and more than 50 in Chennai were cancelled. Due to continuous flight cancellations, there was a lot of trouble and confusion among the passengers.

In view of the continuous disruption in flights, the government has intervened. The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered a 5% reduction in IndiGo’s flight services during the winter programme. Along with this, instructions have also been given that if the airline does not follow the approved schedule, its slots will be made available to other airlines. The government says that Indigo has failed to handle its expanded schedule, so it became necessary to take this step.

Indigo – the country’s largest domestic airline

Gurugram-based Indigo Airlines is the largest airline in India’s domestic aviation sector with more than 65% market share. On Monday, the company had canceled more than 560 flights from six airports. DGCA also informed that the airline has increased its flights by about 9.66% compared to the winter schedule 2024, while an increase of 6.05% has been made compared to the summer schedule 2025. But the company was not able to handle this expansion smoothly, resulting in massive flight cancellations.

IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers said in a video statement released on Tuesday that the company’s operations are now slowly getting back on track. He said that full ticket fees are being refunded to passengers of canceled or delayed flights and refunds have also been sent to lakhs of customers. However, he did not give any clear information about the compensation, whereas as per the rules, if the information is not given within two weeks, the airlines have to compulsorily compensate the passengers.

Passenger problems and luggage situation

Peter Albers also said that most of the luggage stuck at airports has been delivered to customers’ homes. The team is working to send the bags that are still left soon. The company says that in the first phase their aim was to take the stranded passengers to their destination and after that the refund process was started.

According to the CEO, while the company was able to operate only 700 flights on December 5, the number of flights gradually increased in the following days to 1,500 on December 6, 1,650 on December 7, 1,800 on December 8 and more than 1,800 on December 9. By Monday, IndiGo was operating flights to all 138 destinations in its network and on-time performance was also returning to normal.

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During the winter session of Parliament, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has given a big statement on the Indigo crisis in the Rajya Sabha on Monday (December 8, 2025). Naidu has clarified in the Rajya Sabha that the recent flight cancellations and delays were the result of internal problems of the airline. He said that the Central Government will not compromise on the safety of passengers, pilots and crew. This message has been given strictly to all airlines.

The Union Minister said that Indigo Airline should have handled its crew management and roster properly in the beginning, but due to its internal complexities it created large-scale problems in the country. He clarified in the Rajya Sabha that the Central Government is not taking this situation lightly and full responsibility will be fixed for all the passengers who have faced problems.

Civil Aviation Minister’s strong message in Rajya Sabha

Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu gave a strong message in the Rajya Sabha saying that strict action will be taken against any airline company violating the rules. He said that such an example will be set which all other airlines will take seriously.

He also said that more airlines should come into the Indian market, there is huge potential in the country. It is mandatory for all airlines to follow the strict rules (CARs) made for the passengers who faced difficulties due to flight cancellations and delays.

Investigation shows 5 lakh PNRs were cancelled: Ram Mohan Naidu

The Union Minister also informed that investigation has been started into the issues of software and technical glitches in IndiGo airline. Investigation has shown that 5,00,000 PNRs have been cancelled, which is sad and ultimately the aim of the Central Government is to bring India’s aviation sector to the highest safety and service standards in the world.

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At present, the Supreme Court has refused to interfere in the Indigo flight crisis case. A lawyer presented his petition regarding the case before the bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. The Chief Justice refused to put the case up for immediate hearing. He said that the Central Government is taking necessary steps in the matter. He also said that it is not the job of the court to run the airlines.

This petition regarding Indigo crisis is of a lawyer named Narendra Mishra. Citing the huge problems being faced by the passengers, intervention has been sought from the Supreme Court. The petitioner has demanded proper compensation and alternative travel facilities to the affected passengers.

On Monday, December 8, the petitioner presented the case before the bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. He said that in the last few days, Indigo flights have been canceled without any information. Passengers are stranded at airports. This is a serious issue.

On this the Chief Justice said, ‘We understand that lakhs of people are stranded at the airport. They will have important work. There will be health related needs, but the Government of India has taken cognizance of the matter. It seems that timely action has been taken. Let’s see how the situation is after some time. There is no need for immediate hearing right now.

After the cancellation of a large number of Indigo flights and the sudden increase in ticket prices, the Aviation Ministry has taken a big step and imposed a maximum limit on the fares of domestic economy class flights. This decision has been taken for the safety of passengers and to stop excessive fare collection.

Government imposed cap on domestic flight fares
Amidst the IndiGo crisis and rising air fares, the government has set a maximum limit on domestic flight fares. This rule has come into effect immediately from 6 December 2025. The new prices are as follows:

Distance (km) Maximum fare
0–500 KM ₹7,500
500–1000 KM ₹12,000
1000–1500 KM ₹15,000
More than 1500 KM ₹18,000

The government has clarified that these fare limits do not include Airport Development Fee (UDF), Passenger Service Fee (PSF) and taxes. Also, this rule will not apply to business class and flights operating under the UDAN scheme.

IndiGo announces relief for passengers
Indigo has announced that cancellation charges will be completely waived on all tickets traveling from 5 December 2025 to 15 December 2025. IndiGo has also said that no additional charges will be levied on rescheduling and refunds will be automatically sent back to the passengers’ original payment mode. Passengers will not have to take any additional action for this process.

The situation of flight cancellations still continues
Although the situation is improving at some places, the process of cancellation of flights is still going on across the country. More than 1,000 flights remained closed on Friday and 550 flights were canceled the previous day. Improvement is visible in Delhi, but problems still persist in other airports like Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad, where 9 and 19 flights were cancelled.

Government said- operations will be normal soon
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said that flight operations are rapidly returning to normal and the chaos is expected to end to a large extent by Sunday. He said that a committee has been formed to investigate the causes of the problem, which is reviewing airline operations, scheduling and compliance with rules.

Thousands of passengers faced problems due to cancellation of Indigo flights on 6 December. Meanwhile, the Aviation Ministry directed IndiGo to complete the process of refund of tickets for canceled flights by the evening. That means you will get your ticket money back by 7th December.

Refund will be available till the night of 7th December
The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked IndiGo to complete the ticket refund process for passengers affected by the disruption in flights by 8 pm on Sunday night. Also said that the airline should ensure that all the luggage separated from the passengers due to flight cancellation is delivered within the next 48 hours.

IndiGo was also directed to set up special assistance and refund facility centers for passengers. The automatic refund process will continue until operations are completely stabilized.

Additionally, the ministry said airlines should ensure that passengers’ lost luggage due to flight cancellations or delays is traced and delivered to them within the next 48 hours.

Aviation Ministry gave information to PM Modi
The Aviation Ministry has informed PM Modi in the Indigo case. In fact, continuous meetings are being held by the ministry for the last two days. The government is preparing to impose heavy fine on the airline.

There was a mess due to the new rules of the government
The new pilot duty rules (FDTL Phase-2) of the Central Government came into force and IndiGo was not at all prepared for it. The Pilot Union filed a petition in the Delhi High Court in January 2024. In this, the issue of flight safety was raised due to excessive working hours and fatigue of pilots. After the order of the High Court, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) made changes in the Flight Duty Time Limitation i.e. FDTL rules. These rules were to be implemented in two parts.

On July 1, 2025, Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules were implemented to give rest to the pilots. Under this, it was made mandatory for airline companies to give pilots 48 hours of rest instead of 36 hours a week, i.e. two days weekly rest. During this period, there was a ban on counting any holiday as weekly rest. The objective was very good that the less tired the pilot is, the safer the flight will be. But these rules reduced the availability of pilots by 15-20%.

In the second phase of FDTL, from November 1, DGCA had also banned continuous night shifts of pilots and other crew members.

• Earlier, rest was available for 36 hours in a week, now 48 hours is mandatory. This means each pilot can fly about one day less in a week.
• Night duty was earlier considered to be from 12 noon to 5 am, now till 6 am. That means one more hour more.
• A pilot can do only 2 night landings in a week, earlier there was a relaxation of up to 6.
• Night duty cannot be done for more than two consecutive nights.
• The most dangerous rule was that if the flight went on for even 1 minute after 12 o’clock in the night, then the entire duty was considered as night duty and the pilot would not be able to fly 1-2 flights in the morning the next day.

This meant only one thing: a pilot is no longer able to fly as many flights as he could before.

More than 400 flights canceled today
On December 5, more than 1,000 flights of the country’s largest airline Indigo were canceled and the same situation remained on December 6. On Saturday, more than 400 flights were canceled at the airports of many cities including the four major airports of the country, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. The ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in the refund process will take immediate regulatory action. More than 2,000 flights have been canceled in the last 4 days. On average 500 flights are getting delayed every day.