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.
The compensation would be in addition to the amount that needs to be provided to passengers for flight cancellations under DGCA norms.
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.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The DGCA has issued multiple fines and warnings to Air India over the past three years, flagging serious concerns in flight operations, cockpit discipline, and internal accountability.
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.
The Gurugram-based carrier, which commands over 65 per cent of India's total domestic traffic, had cancelled over 560 flights from six metro airports alone on Monday.
The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu addressed the Lok Sabha regarding the recent IndiGo flight disruptions, assuring that the airline will be held accountable and strict action will be taken for non-compliance and passenger hardship.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Friday said various operational measures, including keeping new flight duty norms in abeyance, will help address the IndiGo flight disruptions, and complete restoration of services is expected in next three days.
Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said.
Ariana Afghan Airlines A310 aircraft operating flight FG-311 (Kabul-Delhi) was given clearance to land on runway 29L. However, the aircraft landed on runway 29R.
Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation has revised its operational guidelines for operators during adverse weather conditions, emphasising that safety should take precedence over 'schedule adherence' and encouraged pilots to divert flights in unpredictable conditions.
Fair trade watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) is examining whether the country's largest airline, IndiGo, violated competition norms, a senior official said on Friday amid the carrier facing regulatory scrutiny over significant flight disruptions.
The flights have been cut across sectors, particularly on high-demand, high-frequency routes, according to a DGCA statement.
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.
Amid mounting safety concerns and the cancellation of at least 66 flights that were to be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, DGCA officials held a detailed review meeting with top Air India and Air India Express executives.
'IndiGo is fooling the country and the government has succumbed to it.'
Soon after the takeoff, the pilot of ill-fated Air India aircraft gave a Mayday call to the Ahmedabad air traffic controller.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 planes equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect.
Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
Civil aviation authorities have directed Turkish Airlines to ensure 'full compliance' with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulations, an official statement said on Wednesday.
The Delhi High Court refused to entertain a PIL seeking compensation for passengers affected by IndiGo flight cancellations, citing an ongoing related case.
Aviation regulator DGCA plans to implement measures to control excessive air ticket price increases, following concerns raised during a parliamentary panel meeting. The meeting also addressed air safety issues in light of the Ahmedabad plane crash.
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe turbulence near Pathankot on Wednesday, prompting the crew to request permission to enter Pakistani airspace to avoid the weather. However, their request was denied. The aircraft, an A321 neo operating flight 6E 2142, experienced hailstorm and turbulence, triggering various warnings and forcing the autopilot to trip. The crew managed to safely land the aircraft in Srinagar after a harrowing experience. The incident is under investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which confirmed there were no injuries to passengers but noted damage to the aircraft's nose radome.
The DGCA directive called for a series of specific checks before each flight's departure from India, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressors, and electronic engine control units.
IndiGo is operating 1,650 flights of its 2,300 daily domestic and international flights on Sunday, and 650 remain cancelled for the day, amid the airline's operations gradually stabilising after massive disruptions in the last five days, the airline said.
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.
The principal problem lies in lack of training infrastructure and relatively lax safety standards.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced on Tuesday that he has completed the DGCA Drone Pilot Certification program.
Where was the Board when a predictable regulatory change brought the country's largest airline to its knees? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
'IndiGo abruptly cancelled our Kolkata-Purnea flight citing bad weather, despite clear conditions and another airline operating the same route, causing severe inconvenience.'
An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner experienced an uncommanded deployment of its Ram Air Turbine (RAT) shortly before landing. The DGCA is investigating the incident, raising safety concerns.
'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?'
Father of deceased pilot and Federation of Indian Pilots petition Supreme Court for a court-monitored inquiry into the Air India flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad.
The Supreme Court has raised concerns about the preliminary report on the Air India crash and has asked for a more independent and thorough investigation.
The Supreme Court on Friday said no one blamed the chief pilot of the Air India Dreamliner for the June 12 crash, which claimed 260 lives, and asked his 91-year-old father not to carry any emotional burden.
The development also comes against the backdrop of Turkiye backing Pakistan and condemning India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country earlier this month.
Delhi is preparing for its first artificial rain through cloud seeding to combat air pollution. A trial run was successful, and the first rainfall is expected on October 29 if weather conditions are favorable.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has issued a warning letter to Akasa Air's accountable manager Vinay Dube, who is also its founder and CEO, for regulatory lapses, days after the airline was warned for violating norms related to handling dangerous goods.
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