The continuously increasing cold and dense fog in Delhi is beginning to have an impact on air operations. Delhi Airport officials said that due to dense fog and low visibility at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday (December 15, 2025), there are a lot of problems in aircraft operations. Due to this, a total of 228 flights were cancelled, while five flights were diverted.

According to Delhi Airport officials, out of the total 228 flights that were cancelled, 131 flights were scheduled to depart from Delhi, while the destination of the other 97 flights was Delhi Airport i.e. they were included in the incoming flights, but on Monday (December 15) morning, visibility became very low due to dense fog in the national capital New Delhi. Due to this reason all flights had to be cancelled.

Due to low visibility, 228 flights (131 departures and 97 arrivals) have been canceled at Delhi Airport so far, and five flights have been diverted: Delhi Airport

— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2025

Aircraft are being operated as per CAT-III rules

It is noteworthy that at present the flights at Delhi airport are being operated as per CAT-III rules. This rule allows aircraft to land in very low visibility conditions, but such cases often result in operational delays and even cancellation of flights.

Civil Aviation Ministry issued advisory

At the same time, keeping in mind the problems being faced by passengers due to the operation of aircraft, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a travel advisory on Monday (December 15, 2025). In this, the Ministry requested all the air passengers to check the latest updates regarding flight status from their airlines before leaving their homes for the airport.

Heavy Fog Alert for Northern India

Delhi (DEL) & other airports in Northern India are experiencing dense fog, severely affecting visibility.

For Passengers:
Before heading to the airport, please check the latest flight status with your airline.
Check flight information on the…

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) December 15, 2025

The ministry shared a post on the social media platform Along with this, it was emphasized that the safety of passengers should be given the highest priority.

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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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