Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu's responds in the Parliament on Indigo Crisis
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Dec 8: In a strong and unequivocal message in the Rajya Sabha, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced that the government will take strict action against anyone who doesn't comply with guidelines and set an example for the future, as Indigo faces scrutiny over the recent operational crisis.
Responding to a question raised by Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, Minister Ram Mohan Naidu made it clear that the disruption of services was not related to the AMSS system outage, but a direct result of Indigo’s internal failures.
“The Indigo crisis that we are seeing is due to issues in their crew rostering systems and their internal planning failure,” he said.
Minister of Civil Aviation explains the timeline
The Minister elaborated that
- the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) guidelines implemented from November 1, 2025 following a High Court directive were introduced only after extensive consultations with all stakeholders. Of the 22 guidelines, 15 were rolled out smoothly on July 1, and the remaining seven on November 1.
- Subsequently, Multiple airlines sought operational variations, given their differing requirements such as night operations, Northeast-heavy routes, and ATR-specific services. The DGCA conducted multiple rounds of consultations and granted permissible variations only after rigorous safety risk assessments.
- There was more than 1 full month of operations within the new FDTL also.
- Even on December 1st 2025, a meeting was conducted with Indigo airlines . Certain clarifications were sought, and given by the Ministry. Even in this meeting, no challenges were informed to the Ministry. No issues were flagged by Indigo.
- On December 3rd, Once this issue came to the fore (flight cancellations by Indigo), several difficulties were faced by passengers. Immediate measures were taken by Ministry of Civil Aviation and the situation has been normalized .
“Safety is non-negotiable. We care for the pilots, crew, system, and passengers. The ministry has been very clear that all airlines must follow the rules,” he emphasised.
Minister Naidu highlighted that DGCA had been in continuous discussions with all airlines throughout November to ensure smooth adaptation to the new norms. After a full month of operations under the revised FDTL rules, it became evident that Indigo’s challenges were internal and operational in nature.
“This is a day-to-day operations matter that Indigo should have maintained. They were responsible for managing their crew and roster. Our role is to ensure FDTL compliance — and there has been no compromise on that,” he asserted.
The Minister confirmed that an enquiry is underway and reiterated that the government’s response will be firm. “We will take strict action and set an example for any non-compliance in the future,” he said, underscoring the government's resolve.
Responding to a question raised by Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, Minister Ram Mohan Naidu made it clear that the disruption of services was not related to the AMSS system outage, but a direct result of Indigo’s internal failures.
“The Indigo crisis that we are seeing is due to issues in their crew rostering systems and their internal planning failure,” he said.
Minister of Civil Aviation explains the timeline
The Minister elaborated that
- the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) guidelines implemented from November 1, 2025 following a High Court directive were introduced only after extensive consultations with all stakeholders. Of the 22 guidelines, 15 were rolled out smoothly on July 1, and the remaining seven on November 1.
- Subsequently, Multiple airlines sought operational variations, given their differing requirements such as night operations, Northeast-heavy routes, and ATR-specific services. The DGCA conducted multiple rounds of consultations and granted permissible variations only after rigorous safety risk assessments.
- There was more than 1 full month of operations within the new FDTL also.
- Even on December 1st 2025, a meeting was conducted with Indigo airlines . Certain clarifications were sought, and given by the Ministry. Even in this meeting, no challenges were informed to the Ministry. No issues were flagged by Indigo.
- On December 3rd, Once this issue came to the fore (flight cancellations by Indigo), several difficulties were faced by passengers. Immediate measures were taken by Ministry of Civil Aviation and the situation has been normalized .
“Safety is non-negotiable. We care for the pilots, crew, system, and passengers. The ministry has been very clear that all airlines must follow the rules,” he emphasised.
Minister Naidu highlighted that DGCA had been in continuous discussions with all airlines throughout November to ensure smooth adaptation to the new norms. After a full month of operations under the revised FDTL rules, it became evident that Indigo’s challenges were internal and operational in nature.
“This is a day-to-day operations matter that Indigo should have maintained. They were responsible for managing their crew and roster. Our role is to ensure FDTL compliance — and there has been no compromise on that,” he asserted.
The Minister confirmed that an enquiry is underway and reiterated that the government’s response will be firm. “We will take strict action and set an example for any non-compliance in the future,” he said, underscoring the government's resolve.
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