DGCA Fines IndiGo Rs 22.20 Crore, Demands Rs 50 Crore Bank Guarantee Over Flight Chaos

• DGCA imposed a Rs 22.20 crore fine on IndiGo for severe flight disruptions in December 2025, including 2,507 cancellations and 1,852 delays affecting over three lakh passengers.
• The airline was found to have 'over-optimized' operations, lacked sufficient buffers, and failed to properly implement revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.
• IndiGo's biggest mistake was prioritizing commercial gain over safety, leading to low recovery margins and network collapse due to excessive reliance on dead-heading and long duty shifts.
• Individual actions were also taken: the CEO received a 'caution', the COO a 'warning', and the Senior Vice President (Operation Control Center) was instructed to be removed from operational responsibilities.
• A Rs 50 crore bank guarantee was demanded, linked to the 'IndiGo Systemic Reform Assurance Scheme (ISRAS)', to ensure permanent improvements in leadership, manpower planning, and digital systems.

Why It Matters: DGCA penalized IndiGo heavily for flight disruptions, demanding systemic reforms and a bank guarantee.