IndiGo meltdown: DGCA caves in, freezes crew duty rules amid flight disruptions

The government froze crew fatigue rules introduced last month a day after IndiGo sought relief on implementing these regulations that the airline blamed for continuing flight cancellations that stretched into a fourth day on Friday, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement on Friday that the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) orders of the civil aviation regulator have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect. The statement also said the government has decided to institute a high-level inquiry into the disruptions. “The inquiry will examine what went wrong at Indigo, determine accountability wherever required for appropriate actions, and recommend measures to prevent similar disruptions in the future, ensuring that passengers do not face such hardships again,” the statement said.