&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Indian civil aviation agency DGCA withdraws weekly rest instructions to airlines after massive disruptions across nation")
The Indian civil aviation agency, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has withdrawn its instructions to all operators regarding weekly rest for crew members with immediate effect. This comes after massive flight disruptions in major Indian carriers, including IndiGo, which is the hardest hit with over 1,000 cancellations in the last few days. Reports suggested that Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah spoke to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu regarding the situation.
“Whereas, reference is invited to the above-mentioned letter, specifically to the paragraph stipulating that ‘no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest,’” the DCGA said in a notice on Friday (Dec 5).
The notice added, “Whereas, in view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision.”
Also read | IndiGo meltdown: How new pilot fatigue rules forced India’s largest airline to cancel over 1,000 flights
It further stated, “Now, therefore, the instruction contained in the referenced paragraph that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect.”
IndiGo issued a statement saying, "In addition to this, several operational measures have been directed to ensure that normal airline services are restored at the earliest and that the inconvenience caused to travellers is significantly reduced. Based on the immediate implementation of these directives, we expect that flight schedules will begin to stabilise and return to normal by tomorrow. We anticipate that complete restoration of services will be achieved within the nextthreedays."
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DGCA DG Faiz Ahmed Kidwai has also requested All Pilot Associations and Pilots for cooperation amid the ongoing flight disruptions.
The move comes after the Delhi Airport announced that all IndiGo departures were cancelled for Friday (Dec 5). In a statement, the airline confirmed, “We confirm that all IndiGo domestic flights departing from Delhi Airport (DEL) on Dec 5, 2025, stand cancelled till 11:59 PM. We express our profound apologies to all our valued customers and stakeholders who have been significantly impacted by these unforeseen events.” It added, “To support our affected customers, we are offering them refreshments, next available flight options as per their preference, hotel accommodation, assistance in retrieving their luggage and full refunds, as applicable...”
IndiGo airline earlier requested exemptions from the specific Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) provisions up to February 10.
“To reduce passenger inconvenience while maintaining safety margins, IndiGo has requested operational variations/exemptions from specific FDTL provisions for A320 operations up to 10th February 2026. IndiGo has assured DGCA that corrective actions are underway and that normalised and stable operations will be fully restored by 10 February 2026,” the DGCA said as quoted by news agency ANI.
Hundreds of passengers claimed that they were left stranded at the airports for hours with no information being provided by IndiGo about their flight status. The flights are affected across the country at major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa, and Kerala.
