The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday withdrew its earlier directive that barred airlines from replacing a crew member’s weekly rest with leave. The move comes amid large-scale operational disruptions across airlines, with over 500 IndiGo flights delayed or cancelled on Friday. The regulator said it reviewed the rule following repeated requests from airlines seeking stability in operations. It clarified that the instruction prohibiting substitution of weekly rest with leave is now removed with immediate effect.

Earlier, the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA India) criticised the DGCA for granting what it called selective and unsafe exemptions to IndiGo under the revised Phase II Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) rules. ALPA argued that these relaxations compromise pilot safety and weaken the purpose of fatigue-management regulations.

The DGCA noted that IndiGo has requested temporary exemptions from certain FDTL norms for its A320 fleet until February 10, 2026, promising restoration of operational stability by then. IndiGo has been cancelling around 170–200 flights daily, far more than usual, due to difficulties implementing the new FDTL rules, crew-planning issues, and winter-related constraints. As disruptions continued nationwide, more than 500 IndiGo flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday. Delhi Airport also announced that all IndiGo departures from Delhi were cancelled until midnight, while other airlines continued operating normally.