‘Cartel-like behaviour’: FIP issues letter flagging IndiGo’s ‘hiring freeze’; urges DGCA to act amid widespread flight cancellations

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) issued a letter on Wednesday to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) alleging that IndiGo imposed a “hiring freeze” despite having a two-year window to prepare for the full rollout of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew.“Despite the two-year preparatory window before full FDTL implementation, the airline inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze, entered non-poaching arrangements, maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour, and demonstrated other short-sighted planning practices,” FIP said, as cited by PTI.

It further asked the DGCA to consider reallocating IndiGo’s slots to carriers capable of operating them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if the airline continues to “fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages.”The pilots’ body emphasised that the recent surge in IndiGo flight cancellations is not related to the Delhi High Court–mandated FDTL regulations for pilots.“All other airlines have provisioned pilots adequately and remain largely unaffected due to timely planning and preparation,” FIP said. “The current disruption is the direct consequence of IndiGo’s prolonged and unorthodox lean manpower strategy across departments, particularly in-flight operations,” it added. After phase 1 of the FDTL norms came into force on July 1, the FIP said “IndiGo reduced pilot leave quotas,” and following the implementation of phase 2 on November 1, “attempted to buy back pilot leave.”“These measures saw poor response and further damaged pilot and employee morale — especially in a year when airline executives took home record increments approaching or exceeding 100 per cent, while simultaneously blaming pilot migration instead of investing in retention and workplace improvements,” said FIP. On Wednesday, IndiGo cancelled more than 150 flights and faced lengthy delays across several airports, citing multiple factors, including crew shortages linked to the rollout of the new FDTL norms.According to civil aviation ministry data, just 19.7 per cent of IndiGo’s flights were on time across six major airports.FIP urged the regulator not to approve airlines’ seasonal schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate flights “safely and reliably” under the new norms. It added that even as the busy winter fog season began, a period that naturally requires higher pilot availability, IndiGo expanded its winter schedule “without recruiting or training additional pilots,” raising concerns about operational responsibility.The letter also pointed out that, in keeping with international practice, the Indian aviation regulator approves two schedules for domestic airlines each year: the winter schedule (late October to late March) and the summer schedule (late March to late October).The latest FDTL norms, which increase weekly rest periods to 48 hours, extend night duty hours, and reduce the number of permissible night landings from six to two, were initially opposed by domestic airlines, including IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India. Although the rules were originally scheduled for implementation in March 2024, carriers sought a phased rollout, citing the need for additional crew to meet the revised requirements.