India’s Aviation Safety Under Strain After IndiGo Crisis

Why in the News ?

IndiGo’s large-scale flight cancellations and the government’s subsequent suspension of the DGCA’s newly notified Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms have raised serious concerns about India’s aviation safety framework.
Despite the rules being mandated under a High Court order to address crew fatigue, the Ministry placed them under abeyance, prioritising operational continuity over safety considerations. Critics argue that the response reflects a deeper erosion of regulatory integrity, with commercial interests being placed above passenger and crew safety.

Background & Context

India’s aviation sector has experienced repeated tensions between safety norms and airline operational demands. Attempts to strengthen pilot rest regulations have been diluted several times due to industry pushback. The recent IndiGo disruptions have exposed structural weaknesses: chronic under-staffing, inconsistent enforcement of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), and regulatory decisions that appear reactive rather than safety-driven.

A Pattern of Diluting Safety Measures

• In 2007, DGCA introduced a robust CAR to address pilot fatigue.
• Airline owners opposed it, leading the Ministry to place the regulation in abeyance; DGCA formally suspended it in May 2008.
• This created a long-standing precedent where commercial pressures outweighed scientifically backed fatigue-management requirements.

Judicial Intervention and Its Reversal

Pilot unions challenged the 2008 dilution in the Bombay High Court. The Court initially criticised DGCA and the Ministry for:

• Endangering pilot and passenger safety
• Arbitrarily extending duty hours
• Prioritising airline profitability over safety

It even advised airlines to reduce flights instead of overworking pilots. However, in an unexpected reversal, the same Court later upheld the Ministry’s decision, weakening the push for stricter fatigue norms.

IndiGo and DGCA Missed a Long-Known Deadline

• The new FDTL rules had a clear implementation date of November 1, 2025, known more than a year in advance.
• Both IndiGo and DGCA failed to prepare, resulting in severe nationwide disruptions.
• While refunds may be provided, passengers remain uncompensated for hotel expenses, missed events, and other losses.

Structural Root: Chronic Understaffing

DGCA’s own CAR (Series C, Part II, Section 3, April 2022) mandates:

• Minimum three sets of crew per aircraft
• All crew with valid DGCA licences and endorsements

However, enforcement has been weak. Airlines, especially IndiGo, operate with lean crew levels, making them extremely vulnerable to any regulatory change.

Even earlier requirements were stricter:

• Six pilot sets per domestic aircraft
• Twelve sets for long-haul widebody aircraft

Yet airlines appeared to deliberately understaff, taking advantage of lax oversight.

ICAO’s Long-Standing Warning on Oversight

In 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) advised India to establish an independent aviation regulator, free from government control. Eighteen years later, the warning seems validated: oversight has weakened, and airlines operate with considerable confidence that violations will attract minimal consequences.

December 2025: A Case of Collapsed Oversight

Two contradictory actions within hours revealed regulatory breakdown:

1. DGCA urged pilots to follow the High Court–mandated FDTL rules.
2. The Ministry suspended those very rules, enabling IndiGo to continue operations without adequate crew numbers.

This amounted to state-sanctioned dilution of safety norms. Moreover, IndiGo—non-compliant for over a year—has now been granted time until February 10, 2026, a deadline critics expect will be extended again.

Aviation Safety Ignored Despite Past Crashes

Despite three major air disasters since 2010 (Mangaluru, Kozhikode, Ahmedabad), regulatory reform has remained slow. The Air India AI 171 crash report is still pending without explanation.

IndiGo claims operations will stabilise in 10–15 days, but safety concerns remain acute. The decisions taken on December 5, 2025, especially suspending FDTL norms, suggest that in India’s aviation sector, “safety first” remains more rhetoric than reality.