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IndiGo has vacated much than 700 slots astatine assorted home airports, pursuing aviation watchdog DGCA curtailing the country's largest airline's wintertime flights by 10% aft monolithic operational disruptions successful aboriginal December, according to sources.
Generally, slots notation to a peculiar clip play fixed to an hose for takeoff and landing of aircraft. In elemental terms, it is astir operating flights astatine the fixed time.
Out of the 717 slots, arsenic galore arsenic 364 are from six cardinal metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Among these cities, astir of the vacated slots are from Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the sources told PTI.
As per information provided by the sources, the fig of slots vacated by IndiGo is dispersed implicit the January-March period. A full of 361 slots person been vacated for March compared to conscionable 43 for February, and this month, the number of vacated slots is astatine 361.
Against this backdrop, the civilian aviation ministry connected Thursday (January 22, 2026) asked different airlines to taxable their requests for operating home flights connected the slots vacated by IndiGo.
"IndiGo has submitted a database of 717 slots to the ministry, which it has vacated aft the home wintertime docket was reduced by 10 per cent successful aboriginal December past year," 1 of the sources said.
The airline, which mostly operates much than 2,200 flights daily, has trimmed the fig of services pursuing the directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that was aimed astatine preventing last-minute cancellations and ensuring operational stability.
As portion of its wintertime docket for 2025-26, IndiGo was allowed to run 15,014 flights per week, which comes to 2,144 flights per day.
A 10% simplification has brought this down to 1,930 home flights per day. It whitethorn beryllium noted present that IndiGo, successful its summertime schedule, operated connected an mean of 2,022 flights a day.
Between December 3 and 5 past year, IndiGo cancelled 2,507 flights and 1,852 flights were delayed, impacting implicit 3 lakh passengers astatine airports crossed the country.
Following the monolithic disruptions, DGCA reduced IndiGo's wintertime docket by 10%, which meant the hose had stopped operating services successful assorted slots.
"Going by the slots vacated by IndiGo, it is wide that they tin beryllium operated by different airlines lone till the extremity of March. After that, they mightiness spell backmost to IndiGo. No 1 tin bash the web readying astatine specified abbreviated notice. No 1 is going to unfastened a assemblage astatine specified abbreviated notice, run it lone to adjacent aft a month," an hose manufacture enforcement said.
Another hose manufacture enforcement said airlines mightiness not beryllium keen to instrumentality the slots vacated by IndiGo, arsenic astir of them are for red-eye flights.
Generally, red-eye flights are those operated precocious astatine nighttime oregon successful the wee hours.
In its connection sent retired to airlines connected Thursday, the ministry said the committee connected redistribution of the vacated IndiGo slots held its archetypal gathering connected January 13, wherein the process and principles for redistribution were discussed.
Following the deliberations, the sheet has present asked airlines to taxable their requests and preferences for the vacated slots, taxable to assorted conditions, it added.
As per the communication, the airlines person to nonstop their requests for the vacated slots to the airdrome operators acrophobic and the last determination connected the redistribution of the slots.
Among different conditions, the funny airlines should not discontinue their existing routes to utilise the vacated slots.
On January 17, DGCA announced slapping fines totalling ₹22.20 crore for the December formation disruptions and had besides warned CEO Pieter Elbers and 2 different elder executives for the lapses.
It besides directed the hose to furnish a $50 crore slope warrant to guarantee semipermanent systemic corrections.
The watchdog, connected January 20, said the disruptions stemmed from mismanagement of capable formation crew, inadequate regulatory preparedness astatine the relation level, and shortcomings successful strategy bundle support, absorption structure, and operational control.
