DGCA Fines IndiGo Rs 22.2 Crore After December Flight Chaos
New Delhi: India’s aviation regulator has imposed a Rs 22.2 crore penalty on IndiGo and ordered the airline to furnish a Rs 50 crore bank guarantee tied to systemic reforms after an inquiry found serious planning and management failures behind large-scale flight disruptions in December.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement that more than 2,500 flights were cancelled and over 1,800 were delayed between December 3 and 5, 2025, affecting more than three lakh passengers across the country.
A DGCA committee of four members concluded that the disruption stemmed from numerous factors, such as “over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness and deficiencies in system software support and management oversight”, apart from failure to implement revised flight duty time limitation rules. The inquiry also cited weak roster planning, minimal recovery buffers and deficiencies in software systems at the airline.
Also read: Parliamentary Panel Finds DGCA, IndiGo Replies ‘Evasive’ on Flight Disruptions
Action has been taken against senior management as well, including a caution issued to the chief executive officer, the senior vice president in charge of the operations control centre (he is to be relieved of operational responsibilities and not assigned any accountable position), the deputy head of flight operations, the assistant vice president for crew resource planning and the director of flight operations.
The financial penalty includes Rs 1.8 crore in one-time fines for multiple regulatory breaches and Rs 20.4 crore for 68 days of continued non-compliance with revised crew duty norms.
A list of the financial penalties against IndiGo by DGCA.
“DGCA reiterates that safety and regulatory compliance remains paramount, and that all enforcement actions are directed towards strengthening systemic resilience and ensuring sustained operational safety in civil aviation,” the note said.
Press Note on Indigo Flight Disruptions- December 2025: Findings, Enforcement Action and Systemic Reforms @MoCA_GoI @Pib_MoCA pic.twitter.com/GDJLiQ4pxE
— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) January 17, 2026
In addition, IndiGo has been directed to provide a Rs 50 crore bank guarantee under a reform assurance scheme, with phased release linked to DGCA-verified improvements in governance, manpower planning, fatigue management, digital systems and board oversight.
The airline has also been asked to compensate affected passengers and has offered a Rs 10,000 so-called goodwill travel voucher valid for 12 months to those whose flights were cancelled or delayed by more than three hours during the disruption period.
The press note states that, on the directions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), an internal inquiry has been initiated within the DGCA itself to identify shortcomings during the disruption and implement improvements.
Also read: As IndiGo Faces Crisis, the Company’s Independent Directors Cannot Evade Responsibility
“Further, on the directions of MoCA, an internal inquiry is being undertaken to identify and implement systemic improvements within the DGCA,” the note said.
In December 2025, IndiGo struggled to roster pilots in compliance with newly implemented flight duty time limitation rules, which tightened limits on duty hours and night operations and mandated longer and more predictable rest periods for pilots and other crew. The updated rules had been notified in early 2024 with phased implementation, giving airlines 18 months to a year to comply by November 2025.
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