The civil aviation ministry is monitoring the impact of volcanic ash plumes from Ethiopia on flight operations, leading to cancellations and delays. The situation is being closely monitored, and necessary precautions are being taken.
60 years ago, on January 24, 1966, Dr Homi J Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear programme, died in an air crash on Mont Blanc. The official inquiry said the plane went off course in bad weather, but coincidences, missing evidence, and later unproven claims have kept conspiracy theories alive. A fascinating excerpt from Bakhtiar Dadabhoy's book, Homi J Bhabha: A Life.
IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday and said operations are expected to normalise in the next 10 days, as the country's largest airline received flight duty norms relaxation from watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which will probe the disruptions that have impacted thousands of passengers for four straight days.
Around one-fifth of 143 airports handling only domestic flights recorded an average of two or fewer aircraft movements a day between April and November 2025, according to data from the Airports Authority of India
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday said the negotiations for a free trade agreement with India have been concluded.
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
According to sources, the crisis-ridden airline cancelled 137 flights at Delhi airport and 21 services at Mumbai airport.
'IndiGo is fooling the country and the government has succumbed to it.'
Where was the Board when a predictable regulatory change brought the country's largest airline to its knees? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
From the 30-Sensex firms, InterGlobe Aviation, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, and Tata Steel were among the biggest laggards. However, Trent, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Aviation watchdog DGCA stations personnel at IndiGo's headquarters to monitor flight cancellations, crew deployment, and operational disruptions after thousands of flights were cancelled, causing passenger inconvenience.
Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation-appointed panel investigating the flight disruptions at IndiGo is likely to summon the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras on Wednesday as part of the ongoing probe, according to a source on Monday.
In another development, aviation safety regulator DGCA in an order on Sunday late evening extended the time by Monday 6 pm for IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras to submit reply to its show cause notice over the ongoing disruptions in the airline's operations.
Baghaei also alleged that recent unrest in Iran was fuelled by foreign interference, claiming riots were triggered by "very evident" interventionist remarks by US and Israeli officials.
Pilots' body the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze."
Ash clouds from the recent eruption of the HayliGubbi volcano in Ethiopia are impacting flight operations, and there are reports suggesting that clouds might also be drifting towards the western parts of India.
Dense fog disrupted operations at Delhi airport, leading to cancellations and delays of hundreds of flights. Airlines are offering refunds and rescheduling options.
According to the latest data from the aviation regulator DGCA, IndiGo and Air India did not cancel any flights, while Air India Express cancelled four flights due to the system modification process.
Indigo airlines cancelled 13 flights from Hyderabad airport, causing chaos and frustration among passengers. The cancellations were attributed to technology and operational issues.
'This personal incident has no connection whatsoever with his employer or professional duties. Attempts to associate the company's name are unwarranted and appear aimed solely at gaining social media attention on an otherwise settled personal issue'
The Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport in Guwahati has inaugurated a new nature-themed terminal building, designed to handle 13.1 million passengers per year and serve as a key aviation hub for the northeast and a gateway to Southeast Asia.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also asked how could other airlines take advantage of the crisis situation and charge hefty sums for tickets from the passengers.
2025 started with a blockbuster in Chhaava and ended with an even bigger one in Dhurandhar. There have been other Hindi hits too, and we take a look at the Top 10.
Rahul Bhatia-controlled domestic carrier IndiGo on Monday cancelled 562 flights from six metro airports, with 150 cancellations originating from Bengaluru airport alone, according to sources.
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, has approached the Delhi high court seeking a refund of over Rs 900 crore it claims to have paid as Customs duty on aircraft engines and parts re-imported into India after overseas repairs. The petition came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Shail Jain.
Apart from the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) exemptions, the regulator has provided certain other relaxations that will help IndiGo have more pilots for duty to reduce the disruptions and normalise operations.
Passengers may think they are just booking a ticket, but airlines' clever design tricks are quietly picking their pockets.
GPS spoofing occurs when fake satellite signals are transmitted to an aircraft's navigation system, confusing pilots or onboard systems about the plane's actual position or altitude. Such false signals pose a serious safety risk, especially during landing.
'International flights will continue to operate from the old terminal because of customs and other requirements. Eventually, the old terminal will be closed.'
The DGCA has formed two specialised teams to internally monitor IndiGo's daily operations.
As many as 338 A320 family aircraft operated by Indian airlines require the software upgrade to address a potential issue related to flight controls, and modifications have been carried out in more than half of the affected fleet, according to DGCA data.
India and Russia have agreed to jointly produce a twin-engine narrow-body passenger aircraft for short-haul flights, marking a significant step in their strategic ties. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Russia's Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) have signed an agreement for the production of SJ-100 aircraft in India.
'They are saying that there is a pilot shortage which is not correct, but if it was true, did they suddenly come to know this on December 5?' 'If they didn't have crew, why did they seek approval for a winter schedule? To get the approval, the operator has to show crew strength and also a buffer of crew available.' 'If they had a crew crunch, why did they ask for extra flights? Or was it something else that made them so sure that they would get away with this exemption and bans?'
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
In 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a multi-domain combat mission against Pakistan in response to cross-border terrorism. The operation involved precision strikes, military retaliation, and diplomatic measures, marking a significant shift in India's security policy.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident reported on November 26. The regulator had asked the airline to carry out an internal probe to fix the responsibility and ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
To enable Indian banks and financial institutions to develop an aircraft-leasing ecosystem at GIFT City, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought support from the Ministry of Finance. It has also raised concern over slow progress in developing aircraft leasing in India.
The airline announced that it will fully refund all bookings cancelled between December 5 and December 15 and will offer a waiver on all cancellation and rescheduling requests.
