Image is for illustration purposes only. | Photo credit: File
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday (Dec 16, 2025) told the Delhi High Court that it will ensure that IndiGo expeditiously implements new pilot rest and duty norms, even as the regulator granted the airline an exemption till February 10.
Appearing before Amit Sharma in connection with a contempt plea filed by a pilot body seeking proceedings against the regulator for granting relief to various airlines, the DGCA said “exemptions are not granted happily”.
The bench issued a notice to the DGCA and directed its top officials to submit their reply in the matter. The court listed the case for further hearing on April 17, 2026.
The Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) plea alleged that the DGCA granted exemptions to airlines such as Air India and IndiGo despite the court ordering the introduction of Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) in April 2025, which governs rest and duty periods for pilots.
On December 5, the DGCA issued an order exempting IndiGo from implementing two specific provisions of the pilot rest and duty rules till February 10, including the definition of night duty and limiting landings to two per night shift, flight time to eight hours per day and duty time, which includes flight time and pre- and post-flight services, to a maximum of 10 hours per night shift. The exemptions were granted after the airline experienced service disruptions in the first 10 days of December, leading to more than 5,000 flight cancellations, which it attributed to “scheduling deficiencies” in ensuring pilot availability under the new standards.
Earlier, before the implementation of certain clauses on November 1, the DGCA had allowed limited options to Air India and IndiGo, allowing up to three landings per night shift under certain circumstances instead of the prescribed limit of two landings.
Opposing the contempt action, the DGCA’s counsel said the court had not frozen the content of the civil aviation requirement that forms the regulator’s rules. While the implementation timelines were binding, the regulator retained statutory powers under the Aircraft Act and Rules to grant temporary exemptions for specific cases, the counsel added, adding that the DGCA is working to ensure that IndiGo implements the norms by February 10.
The pilot authority argued that airlines were abusing the FDTL variant filing provision, which was intended for post-flight documentation rather than flight planning.
Published – 16 Dec 2025 21:26 IST
