Air safety must come first: Expert backs DGCA move as IndiGo vacates over 700 flight slots
New Dehi, January 25. Senior aviation expert Subhash Goyal has stressed that passenger safety must remain paramount in the wake of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) decision to scale back IndiGo’s winter flight schedule, a move that has resulted in the airline surrendering 717 domestic flight slots across multiple airports.
Goyal said airlines must ensure adequate staffing and strict compliance with regulatory requirements, particularly in-flight crew management, ANI news agency reported. Emphasising the importance of pilot welfare, he noted that sufficient rest and proper rostering were critical to safe operations, especially in the aftermath of the Ahmedabad air crash. He added that the DGCA’s push to enforce crew roster norms was aimed at safeguarding both pilots and passengers.
On January 24, IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, gave up more than 700 domestic airport slots after the aviation regulator imposed a 10 percent reduction in its winter schedule in early December, citing widespread operational disruptions. Airport slots – specific time windows for take-offs and landings – are vital for smooth functioning at congested airports.
The surrendered slots, covering the January-March 2026 period, were vacated following a DGCA directive intended to curb frequent last-minute cancellations and stabilise IndiGo’s operations. The airline, which normally operates over 2,200 flights daily, was compelled to cut services after severe disruptions reported in December 2025.
Sources said IndiGo submitted a detailed list of the vacated slots to the Civil Aviation Ministry, which has since invited other airlines to apply for these openings. The ministry has made it clear that the objective is to ensure the slots do not remain unused and that additional capacity is added where possible.
Preference in slot allocation will be given to airlines that can demonstrate genuine operational readiness, including the availability of aircraft, pilots, cabin crew, ground handling equipment and maintenance personnel, rather than merely reshuffling existing services. Airlines failing to meet preparedness criteria risk having allocated slots withdrawn and reassigned, the ministry said, while also cautioning against discontinuing existing routes to utilise the newly available slots.
The DGCA’s intervention followed significant passenger inconvenience caused by widespread delays and cancellations earlier in the winter season. Industry observers noted that most of the vacated slots are at major aviation hubs, making their redistribution particularly significant.
The development marks a notable shift in India’s domestic aviation landscape, where IndiGo holds a dominant market position. The airline has said it will comply with the DGCA’s directive, with a renewed focus on operational reliability and passenger experience.
