Page 8 - Aviation News

DGCA to streamline norms for appointing and retaining pilot examiners

DGCA has proposed tighter experience norms and refresher training for pilot examiners, while easing age limits, tenure rules and monitoring requirements

Take IndiGo's vacated slots only if adding planes, MoCA tells airlines

MoCA says IndiGo's vacated airport slots will go to airlines that add aircraft and crew, not those merely reshuffling existing flights

IndiGo carrying out in-depth review of its internal processes, says CEO

IndiGo is carrying out an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of its internal processes, the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers said on Thursday, against the backdrop of the massive operational disruptions last month. The country's largest airline, on Thursday, posted a 78 per cent decline in profit at Rs 549.1 crore in the three months ended December on account of higher expenses, including Rs 577 crore financial impact due to the disruptions. During a call with mediapersons post announcement of the December quarter results, Elbers said an in-depth review of the robustness and resilience of internal processes is on the way, and efforts are being made to ensure continuity and stability in operations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has curtailed the airline's winter schedule by 10 per cent, and now, the civil aviation ministry has asked other carriers to submit their requests for the slots vacated by IndiGo. Referring to the disruptions, Elbers said that when

DGCA fines IndiGo ₹22.2 crore for massive flight disruptions in December

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Saturday imposed a Rs 22.20-crore penalty on IndiGo for last month's massive flight disruptions and issued stern warnings to airline chief Pieter Elbers as well as two other senior executives. Besides, the regulator directed the airline to furnish Rs 50 crore bank guarantee to ensure compliance with its directives and long-term systemic correction. IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights early in December, leaving thousands of passengers stranded across the country, as the airline was not adequately prepared to implement the new flight duty norms for pilots. Following the large-scale disruptions in IndiGo operations, aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) set up a four-member committee headed by Joint Director General Sanjay K Brahmane to carry out a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to such disruptions. The panel submitted its report to the DGCA on December 27 last year. "We are not taking this situati

DGCA shares airline-wise data with CCI for IndiGo's investigation

Data regarding routes exclusively operated by Indigo between September and December 2025 is also being shared by the DGCA with the Commission

Engine damage may disrupt Air India's A350 flights, airline warns

The damage to the airplane occurred as it was taxiing in dense fog in New Delhi, the carrier said. It did not disclose further details on the foreign object or the routes that could be affected

DGCA orders probe after IndiaOne Air aircraft force-lands near Rourkela

The Odisha government responded promptly by alerting the Directorate team and initiating coordination with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after an IndiaOne Air type of aircraft (Caravan 208) bearing Regn. VT-KSS, which was flying from Bhubaneswar to Rourkela, force-landed at a place near Jalda, when it was 8 Nautical miles short of reaching Rourkela, according to a release by the Directorate of Aviation.Speaking to ANI, Odisha Commerce & Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena said, "We have spoken to the DGCA, which has begun an investigation into the incident. Necessary steps will be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur in the future."Speaking on the flight's force landing, he stated that the accident occurred around 8-10 kilometres before reaching the destination."A regular India One flight operating from Bhubaneswar met with an accident near Rourkela, around 8-10 kilometres before reaching its destination," he said.The Minister further stated that the

Air India pulls ahead of IndiGo in India's busiest Mumbai-Delhi skies route

Mumbai-Delhi corridor ranks among world's top 10 as competition pushes fares lower

Aviation ministry reviews probe panel report on IndiGo crisis: Minister

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday said the ministry is currently analysing the report submitted by the panel that probed the massive flight disruptions involving IndiGo earlier this month. While speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of an event here, he said, "The report has been submitted to the ministry. We are analysing the report, taking further comments from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and we will follow up on the action on that". According to officials, the inquiry committee, headed by DGCA Joint Director General Sanjay K Bramhane, was constituted on December 5 to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to the massive flight disruptions. The committee had submitted its report on Friday evening. Earlier this month, IndiGo cancelled more than 1,600 flights in a single day, followed by several days of bulk cancellations. The inadequate planning in implementing the revised pilot rest norms was cited a

IndiGo to boost pilot allowances, weeks after mass flight cancellations

IndiGo, which according to government data employs roughly 5,000 pilots, did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Dense fog grounds 200 flights for second straight day in northern India

IndiGo, India's largest carrier, stated on its website that 113 flights were cancelled on Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions in and around the national capital region

1 in 5 domestic-only airports handle just two flights a day, AAI data shows

As many as 29 such airports either saw no domestic flight movements at all during the eight-month period or managed no more than 480 flights, an average of just two movements a day

Datanomics: Staff behaviour is a small but steady irritant in air travel

SpiceJet recorded the highest complaint rate per 10,000 passengers, rising sharply from 3.9 in November 2024 to 13.8 in October 2025

IndiGo top brass to fan out across network with 'rebuilding' message

Before the crisis, the airline operated a total of 2,300 flights per day - about 2,000 domestic and about 300 international

Indigo crisis: PIL filed in Delhi HC seeking direction for compensation

A PIL has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking to direct the Centre and Indigo airline to pay four times the compensation of the full ticket price to all passengers whose tickets were cancelled during November and December after the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rollout. The public interest litigation, which will come up for hearing on Wednesday before a bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, also sought an enquiry by a retired judge or Lokpal to identify the negligence and lapses of the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in precipitating the crisis. The petition further sought to direct the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Department of Consumer Affairs to initiate a "class action suit" according to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act against Indigo for the suffering and damages caused to the passengers due to the crisis in the last couple of months. According to the petitioner, Centre for Accountability and

DGCA probe panel on flight disruptions visits IndiGo headquarters

The four-member panel, set up by Director General of Civil Aviation Faiz Ahmed Kidwai to investigate large-scale operational disruptions at domestic carrier IndiGo earlier this month, visited the airline's headquarters on Monday as part of the ongoing probe, sources said. During the visit, they said, the panel members checked multiple aspects of the operations that could have resulted in the disruptions. "The panel members visited IndiGo headquarters on Monday. They remained there throughout the day to take the ongoing probe ahead," a source privy to information told PTI. During the visit, said another source, the probe panel checked multiple aspects of operations, including infrastructure that could have resulted in such a large-scale disruption of services. The four-member panel, comprising Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, has been tasked with identifying the root causes of ...

60% flyers say airlines flouting airfare caps after govt order: Survey

The govt imposed the fare caps on December 6 after passengers complained of a steep increase in ticket prices between December 3 and 6, a peak travel period

IndiGo crisis: Parliamentary panel may summon DGCA, MoCA officials

Parliamentary panel will summon aviation regulators and major airlines to review recent flight cancellations and ongoing safety concerns, including ATC fatigue, pilot shortages and infrastructure gaps

IndiGo crisis: Travel operators ramp up capacities for faster refunds

Travel operators ramp up human and tech support to manage soaring refund and rescheduling requests as IndiGo flight cancellations disrupt peak holiday travel

Delhi HC pulls up Centre over IndiGo crisis; orders passenger compensation

Delhi High Court criticised the Centre and DGCA over the IndiGo disruptions and directed airline to immediately begin compensation under the DGCA's 2010 circular, with the next hearing on Jan 22, 2026