



Mint Explainer | IndiGo Chaos: How a decade-long pilot fatigue dispute landed DGCA in high court
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The week-long disruption at IndiGo—India’s largest airline—resulted in more than 1,500 flight cancellations and widespread delays across major airports, prompting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue a show-cause notices to chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers and other executives for failing to ensure reliable operations. The crisis has deeper roots in a decade-long legal dispute over the rights of pilots to regulated work hours and strict enforcement of fatigue-mitigation norms.
Before IndiGo went into chaos, a contempt plea was already pending in the Delhi High Court alleging that the DGCA had failed to implement the new pilot Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), contrary to its undertakings before the court. The court is scheduled to take up this matter on 15 December. More petitions have been filed seeking judicial intervention over the ongoing disruption in IndiGo flights.
One plea mentioned before the Supreme Court on Monday argued that there are a large number of vacancies in IndiGo and passengers are suffering due to the continuing cancellations and delays. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed concern and observed that people have been stranded and many may have health issues requiring urgent travel. The bench did not immediately order listing of the matter.
A plea before the Delhi High Court sought directions for refunds for passengers affected by the crisis. The court listed the matter for hearing on 10 December. IndiGo and the DGCA did not respond to Mint’s queries seeking comment until the time of publication.
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