New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has removed four flight operations inspectors (FOIs) from their positions after finding lapses in oversight of IndiGo’s flight operations, officials said on Friday. The four inspectors, who were serving as principal operations inspectors (POIs) for IndiGo, have been repatriated to the airline before completion of their deputation tenure. FOIs—typically senior airline pilots deputed to the short-staffed regulator for a fixed term—are designated to specific airlines and are responsible for monitoring compliance with operational requirements, including availability of adequate crew resources.

According to officials, the action follows findings that the inspectors failed to flag a looming pilot shortage at IndiGo ahead of the implementation of revised flight duty time limitation (FDTL) and crew rostering rules. The new norms were scheduled to come into effect from July 1, 2025, with a second phase from November 1, both of which would have significantly increased the airline’s pilot requirements. “In IndiGo’s case, despite being aware that the revised FDTL norms would necessitate additional pilots, the airline did not hire accordingly. The FOIs concerned failed to highlight this gap,” an official said. The oversight led to a situation where IndiGo was unable to operate fully under the new FDTL regime, resulting in disruptions and flight cancellations earlier this month. To prevent further large-scale cancellations, the DGCA subsequently put the implementation of the revised FDTL on hold for Airbus A320 aircraft until February 10, 2026. “IndiGo was in discussion with the DGCA on the new FDTL and was aware of the increased pilot requirement. Yet, they did not hire pilots,” said an official familiar with the matter. Even after the disruption, IndiGo has maintained that it does not face a pilot shortage. However, the regulator has directed the airline to step up pilot recruitment to ensure compliance with operational norms going forward.