New DelhiThe country’s largest airline IndiGo is stuck in a huge operational crisis for the last one week, After more than 1000 flights were canceled in a single day on December 5, the situation worsened to such an extent that the ministry had to relax the new FDTL rules, As soon as this temporary exemption was received, the airline immediately started pilot recruitment on a large scale,
The Federation of Indian Pilots alleged that the airline was on a hiring freeze for months even though it knew that the pilot pool would have to be increased as soon as the new rules were implemented. Now, the very next day after the decision of the Ministry, Indigo released the notification of new recruitment for Captain and Senior First Officers.
Relief in FDTL rules and immediate recruitment of Indigo
On December 5, the Civil Aviation Ministry gave temporary exemption to IndiGo from FDTL Phase-2 rules till February 10, 2026. This was the same day when more than 1000 flights, a record in the history of Indigo, were cancelled. This exemption has been given only to Indigo to meet this challenge. As soon as the relief was received, the airline opened the recruitment of type rated captains and senior first officers for the A320 fleet.
Indian citizens and OCI cardholders (below 55 years) are allowed to apply for the post of First Officer. Candidate must have 200 hours post line release flying experience on A320 fleet and a completely clean record.
Strict experience and age criteria for Captain
The airline released the recruitment notification for the post of Captain and above on 6 December. For this, the age limit has been kept at 62 years and at least 100 hours of PIC post line release is mandatory on A320 with a total of 3000 flying hours. Indigo is hoping that this will reduce the problems of its fleet testing, night shifts and scheduling.
ALPA displeased, said disobeying court order
While IndiGo is busy in starting the recruitment, the Airline Pilots’ Association of India has expressed displeasure over the decision of the Ministry. The organization says that suspending the FDTL rules is against the court’s instructions and increases the risk to the safety of both pilots and passengers. The purpose of these rules was to provide better comfort and safe working conditions to the pilots.
The situation on the ground is still challenging
On December 5, when Indigo canceled more than 1000 flights, all flights from Delhi and 258 flights from Mumbai had to be cancelled. The airline’s on-time performance went below 4%, which means more than 96% of flights were delayed. This is the metric on the basis of which Indigo had been building its market image for years.
On December 6, Indigo issued a statement saying that it is trying its best to get operations back on track. Cancellations have come down to 850 and the airline claims that the situation will improve further in the next few days.
Recruitment of cabin crew also opened
IndiGo has started new recruitment not only for pilots but also for Cabin Attendants (Grade Trainee). This recruitment is for Indian female candidates aged 18 to 27 years and must be ready for deployment at any IndiGo base.
when will the situation improve
Currently, the airline has got operational breath due to relaxation in FDTL rules, but this relief is only till February 2026. The pressure on the airline is not going to reduce between the ministry’s monitoring, DGCA’s reporting and the displeasure of the pilot bodies. Indigo says that it may take a few more days to stabilize its schedule and crew planning. The country’s aviation industry is currently going through a big test and the coming weeks will decide how quickly IndiGo can come out of this crisis.
