The unfortunate chaos created in the aviation sector by IndiGo has given the opposition parties a new excuse to raise concerns over govt..

Who is to blame for the chaos at airports?: The chaos created by India's largest airline 'IndiGo' at the country's airports is inexcusable. The inconvenience faced by passengers due to cancellation or delay of its flights is unbearable. In the last four days - from Tuesday to Friday - it has cancelled around 725 flights. The airline is quietly blaming the government's strictness for such cancellations, whereas the reality is that it continued to take unfair advantage of the government's leniency till the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave up in disgust.

In November too, this company had cancelled 755 flights due to shortage of aircraft or pilots. Now the situation is that in order to overcome all the hurdles and regularize its flights, this company has approached the DGCA. is seeking time till December 10. Along with this, it has sent an application to the DGCA to extend the period of exemption from compliance with the new flight duty time limit rules till February 10. The company claims that it needs to recruit new pilots and other cabin crew to comply with these rules and fulfilling this requirement may take up to February 10.

This is not the first time that IndiGo or other Indian airlines have requested an extension to implement the new flight duty time rules (in short, the roster system). These rules have been in force in most countries of the world since June 1, 2024. In India, the process of postponing their implementation continued for almost a year and a half. Finally, they were implemented on November 1, 2025, but ‘IndiGo’ continued to ignore them. Due to this ignorance, the DGCA Apart from this, the National Association of Indian Pilots has also taken a tougher approach. Since the main objective of the new roster system is to ensure the safety of passengers and flights, its implementation should not be delayed any further.

The new roster system ensures 48 hours of rest in a week for airline pilots. It allows for an additional hour of extra duty for eight hours in case of unfavourable conditions, but calls for the practice of overtime of up to four hours to be abolished. Similarly, night landing rules have also been made easier for pilots. The aim of these rules is to protect pilots and the rest of the flight crew from unnecessary fatigue and reduce the chances of accidents. IndiGo is the only Indian airline that is making a profit. It has not let the tussle between its two main promoters - Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal - affect its performance.

This company, which has made unprecedented expansion in the aviation sector through the best use of its aircraft, financial resources and other resources, has a share of about 60 percent in domestic air traffic. On the other hand, Air India, owned by the Tata Group, despite absorbing companies like 'Vistara' and 'Air Asia', could not give IndiGo a competitive edge in India. Perhaps such hegemony has created an attitude of 'anything goes' within IndiGo, the fruits of which it is now having to bear in the form of a disaster.

The unfortunate chaos created in the aviation sector by IndiGo has given the opposition parties a new excuse to raise concerns over the Modi government. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has blamed the Modi government for this chaos. Some opposition leaders have also demanded the resignation of Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu in this context. The allegations of IndiGo's monopoly are also true to some extent. Till five years ago, there were at least three other major airlines in the country apart from Air India and IndiGo. Of these, GoAir has closed down, SpiceJet has been struggling due to financial losses and Vistara and AirAsia have been merged into Air India. At present, Akasa Air operates on a limited number of routes.

The same fate befell SpiceJet. Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have not yet been able to match IndiGo in terms of flights to various regions within the country. In such a situation, it is necessary that the government conducts an investigation into the business and operations of IndiGo. The number of air travelers is continuously increasing. Therefore, it is the duty of the government to prevent the airlines from doing anything arbitrary and ensure a pleasant and comfortable air journey for every air passenger.