The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has assured that IndiGo has already reported on adequate pilot availability and constant stability in operations as the airline goes up to the February 10 deadline to meet the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations. In one such weekly review meeting that was held on Monday, the DGCA stated that IndiGo had assured that it will not cancel flights past the deadline so long as the current network and crew strength is maintained.
The DGCA in its statement reported that the number of captains and first officers available in IndiGo totals to 2,280 and 2,050 respectively, a figure that it claimed is sufficient compared to the estimated operational needs. Another point that was emphasized by the regulator is that the airline has already undertaken to ensure operational stability as well as not to cancel flights after the FDTL exemptions given to the airline are lifted in December last year.
Last month, the DGCA had previously given IndiGo a one-time waiver on some of its crew fatigue regulations due to a massive operational crisis, that had caused the cancellation of thousands of flights and tens of thousands of passengers to be grounded. The exemption, which was declared in January 2024, gave the airline a temporary exemption on night duty restrictions until February 10. The regulator emphasized that the exemption was solely aimed at stabilising operations and was not a watered down safety standard. It also stated that a close monitoring would be paid to the remedial measures taken by IndiGo and the reasons of the disruptions would be examined.
The crashes were claimed to be caused by the poor crew management, poor regulatory preparedness at operator level and weakness in the system software, management structure and operational control. To help resolve the crisis, the DGCA allowed the IndiGo to reassign pilots on deputation to DGCA inspector to flying to help satisfy duty requirements and lift a provision that airlines could not count pilot leave as weekly rest. The regulator is still very vigilant on the compliance and operational preparedness of IndiGo as the deadline of 10 February comes closer.
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