CHENNAI: The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has blamed IndiGo’s prolonged and “unorthodox” lean-manpower strategy, along with an effective freeze on pilot hiring, for the recent wave of cancellations and delays that left thousands of travellers stranded at airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and several other cities.
In recent days, IndiGo’s network has been thrown into disarray with hundreds of flight cancellations and delays, affecting major airports across India. The disruption is vast: on certain days more than 150 flights were cancelled and numerous others delayed. The ripple effects have left thousands of passengers stranded, airports overwhelmed, and public frustration mounting over flight-status uncertainty, lack of communication, and rebooking challenges as travellers try to scramble for alternate flights or refunds.
FIP has placed the blame squarely on IndiGo’s long-term manpower and roster planning – or more precisely the lack of it. According to FIP’s letter to the regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), IndiGo adopted what they call an “unorthodox lean manpower strategy.” Despite having had a two-year window to prepare for newly mandated rest and duty-time rules for pilots, the airline reportedly instituted a hiring freeze, entered agreements to avoid poaching pilots, froze pilot pay, and avoided fresh recruitment — all in a bid to minimize costs.
As a result, when newer crew-rostering norms came into force and winter, schedule pressure, weather unpredictability and airport congestion arrived, IndiGo lacked crucial buffer capacity. The existing crew pool reportedly became overstretched: pilots were mandated to comply with rest-period regulations while being overworked, frequently reassigned, or flown long “deadhead” legs to cover flights from different bases. That left the airline fragile, with little ability to absorb any operational stress. FIP argues this was not an inevitable outcome of regulatory changes — rather a consequence of short-sighted managerial decisions favouring cost over resilience and reliability.
The airline has acknowledged that a “multitude” of factors — not just crew shortage, but also winter-season weather, airport congestion and minor technical or logistic glitches — contributed to the chaos. But industry insiders and pilot associations warn that comparable carriers appear to have managed the new regulations without comparable fallout, suggesting the root of the problem lies less in the new rules than in IndiGo’s own resource planning.
As a result of the disruption and rising pressure from FIP, the DGCA has opened a probe into why IndiGo’s flight operations collapsed at a time when demand is typically high, and insisted that the airline submit a detailed “mitigation plan” to revive service stability. The regulatory scrutiny, paired with public outrage and stranded travellers, deal a heavy blow to IndiGo’s image — especially at a time when it commands a dominant share of the domestic aviation market.
Looking ahead, IndiGo faces a critical choice. "It can either rebuild its buffer capacity — by hiring fresh pilots, expanding crew rosters, and provisioning for slack to meet unexpected disruptions — which will raise costs but restore reliability, or continue defending its lean-cost model, at the risk of further cancellations, regulatory penalties, slot reallocations and lasting damage to reputation," said senior aviation consultant, who spoke to The New Indian Express, seeking confidentiality
For passengers, the immediate demand is clarity, timely compensation or rebooking, and transparent scheduling, he said adding that; "For regulators and the industry at large, this episode underscores the delicate balance between cost-efficiency and operational resilience, and highlights the need for airlines to align staffing strategy with regulatory compliance and seasonal demand fluctuations, rather than treating lean staffing as a permanent strategy."