International pilot organisations have criticised India’s decision to grant IndiGo temporary relief from new night-duty and rest regulations, warning that the move could compromise aviation safety at a time when the airline is already struggling with widespread operational disruptions. IndiGo, which commands roughly two-thirds of India’s domestic aviation market, has faced significant backlash after poor planning around the updated rules led to more than 2,000 flight cancellations in recent weeks, leaving passengers stranded across the country.
India’s aviation regulator responded by allowing IndiGo a one-time exemption from the stricter Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) that came into effect on November 1. The authority also withdrew a rule that barred airlines from counting pilot leave as part of their weekly rest—a rollback that critics say undermines protections designed to limit fatigue.
Captain Ron Hay, president of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), said the exemption is troubling because it is not rooted in scientific evaluation but appears to be driven by IndiGo’s staffing shortages. Speaking to Reuters, Hay stressed that fatigue is an established threat to aviation safety and noted that weakened rest rules may further incentivise pilots to leave Indian carriers, deepening workforce shortages. He urged India to reconsider the exemption and prioritise long-term safety over short-term operational relief.
IFALPA’s criticism comes as the organisation pushes for a more consistent global standard on pilot fatigue management. Under current international norms, countries are permitted to set their own duty-time limits, resulting in uneven implementation across regions. Europe and the United States have some of the strictest fatigue-mitigation frameworks, while other countries allow more flexibility for airlines, often raising safety concerns among pilots.
The debate extends beyond India. In Canada, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has warned that regulators are considering exemptions that would weaken science-based fatigue protections. One proposal would permit pilots to work up to 23 consecutive days without a weekly day off—something ALPA argues would sharply increase occurrences of dangerous fatigue. Canadian regulators have yet to respond publicly to these criticisms.
As IndiGo continues efforts to stabilise operations after the wave of cancellations, global aviation experts emphasize that fatigue-related decisions must be guided by scientific evidence rather than operational pressures. The controversy underscores a broader industry debate: whether regulatory flexibility should ever outweigh safety in the name of keeping flights on schedule.
