The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is closely monitoring IndiGo’s operations following the airline’s decision to cut nearly 10 per cent of its flight schedule, which has led to several airport slots being vacated. To manage this, the Civil Aviation Ministry has put in place a mechanism to redistribute these slots while ensuring minimal disruption to passengers.
A seven-member committee has been constituted to examine requests from other airlines seeking the vacated slots. According to the ministry, the redistribution process will follow existing guidelines and will be carried out in a fair, transparent, and equitable manner, keeping in mind the operational readiness of interested airlines.
The criteria for slot reallocation include not only aircraft availability but also preparedness in terms of pilots, cabin crew, and ground handling infrastructure. Airlines that fail to demonstrate adequate readiness risk having slots cancelled and reassigned, the ministry has clarified.
IndiGo has assured the regulator of operational stability after February 10, when the DGCA’s flight duty time limitation relaxations come to an end. The airline informed authorities that it has sufficient pilot strength, with around 2,400 Airbus captains against a requirement of 2,280, to sustain its revised operations.
Currently, IndiGo operates about 2,200 flights daily, including domestic and international services. The reduced schedule is expected to continue until at least the end of March and could extend into the summer season. Notably, the airline has largely retained flights from major hubs like Delhi and Mumbai while trimming frequencies on other routes, including late-night and red-eye services.
Despite the government’s proactive approach, industry executives remain cautious about the level of interest in the vacated slots. Since the cuts are spread across different routes and timings rather than complete route withdrawals, airlines will have to carefully assess whether taking over these slots makes commercial and operational sense.
