NEW DELHI, Dec 6: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday approved IndiGo’s request for a temporary exemption from night-duty limits for pilots, as the airline struggles to restore operations following widespread disruptions that led to massive flight cancellations across the country.

The government has put the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms for pilots on hold with immediate effect, anticipating that normal operations at IndiGo will be fully restored by December 15.

The decision came on a day of severe disruption, when more than 1,000 IndiGo flights — over half of the airline’s total schedule — were cancelled, including all departures from Delhi. The cancellations caused major inconvenience to passengers, with many stranded at airports for up to three days.

IndiGo, which typically operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily, has been cancelling services as part of efforts to manage crew shortages, identified as the primary cause of the disruption. On Friday alone, over 400 flights were cancelled. Authorities expect the number of cancellations to decline gradually, with fewer than 1,000 flights likely to be grounded on Saturday.

To mitigate passenger hardship, IndiGo has announced a full waiver on cancellation and rescheduling fees for travel between December 5 and 15.

Meanwhile, as disruptions entered their fifth consecutive day, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday announced a cap on airfares to curb sharp ticket price increases triggered by the airline’s reduced capacity.

Officials expressed confidence that the temporary regulatory relief and operational adjustments would help stabilize flight schedules in the coming days.