New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has imposed a penalty of Rs 22.20 crore on airline IndiGo for large-scale flight disruptions witnessed in December 2025, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Saturday.

According to the regulator, IndiGo cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed 1,852 flights between December 3 and 5, leaving more than three lakh passengers stranded at airports across the country.

The disruptions caused widespread inconvenience and raised serious concerns about the airline’s operational preparedness.

The total penalty includes a one-time fine of Rs 1.80 crore for multiple violations of Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs).

In addition, DGCA imposed a daily penalty of Rs 30 lakh for continued non-compliance with revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms over a period of 68 days.

This resulted in an additional fine of Rs 20.40 crore, taking the total penalty to Rs 22.20 crore.

In its response, IndiGo said it is committed to taking full cognisance of the DGCA’s orders and will take appropriate measures in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Following the disruptions, DGCA constituted a four-member inquiry committee, which found that the crisis was triggered by over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness, weaknesses in planning software, and gaps in management structure and operational control.

The inquiry was ordered by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and carried out under DGCA’s supervision.

The committee observed that IndiGo’s management failed to identify planning gaps, maintain sufficient operational buffers, and properly implement the revised FDTL norms. These failures led to large-scale delays and cancellations during the peak travel period.

The report also noted that the airline followed an aggressive strategy to maximise aircraft and crew utilisation.

This left very little margin for recovery during disruptions and led to excessive dependence on dead-heading, tail swaps and extended duty hours for crew, which weakened overall operational resilience.

The regulator has also issued a caution to IndiGo’s CEO for inadequate oversight and crisis management.

The Accountable Manager and Chief Operating Officer has been warned for failing to assess the impact of the Winter Schedule 2025 and the revised FDTL norms.

DGCA has further directed that the senior vice president of the Operations Control Centre be relieved of his current responsibilities and barred from holding any accountable position.

–IANS

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