IndiGo cancels 300 flights in 2 days as new FDTL rules bite

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday evening said that IndiGo cancelled 1,232 flights last month, with 61 per cent of them attributed to flight duty time limitation (FDTL) issues.

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"IndiGo has been asked to report to the DGCA headquarters to present the facts leading to the current situation along with plans to mitigate the ongoing delays and cancellations," the regulator mentioned.

The regulator also said it is currently investigating the situation and is evaluating measures along with the airline to mitigate the situation.

Industry sources said that at Delhi airport alone, at least 38 IndiGo flights, both domestic and international, were cancelled between midnight and 5 pm on Wednesday. At Mumbai airport, at least 33 flights were dropped in the same period.

Overall, more than 300 flights have been cancelled nationwide over Tuesday and Wednesday, they said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA’s) revised FDTL rules entered their second and final phase on 1 November, bringing into effect the last set of seven clauses deferred during the July rollout. Phase two introduced tighter caps on cumulative flying hours, stricter limits on duty periods during early-morning “window of circadian low” operations, and a hard ceiling on the number of consecutive night duties permitted.