00:00How come that same set of FDTL did not cause any delay in Akasa, did not cause any delay with Air India, which is equally as big, and how it just happened only with Indigo?
00:11That's the question everyone is asking. Why was Indigo the only one shaken by the new norms?
00:16This is wrong. The Airline Pilots Association of India led some of these disruptions were artificially created to pressure the regulator over new duty rules.
00:26It has been a pressure tactic of many an airline. Whenever something doesn't go their way, they engineer this act, and sure enough, if you see, DGCA has not only rolled back the FDTL, they've completely removed the FDTL.
00:42Indigo has denied this, saying that combination of weather technology glitches, congestion, and crew availability is to be blamed.
00:49Now, the flight duty time limit FDTL norms were originally slated for June 2024 but faced pushback from Indigo and other carriers, delaying full implementation.
00:59The DGCA eventually introduced them in two phases in 2025, July and November, following a Delhi High Court mandate and years of complaints about pilot fatigue.
01:08The revised rules cut flying cars, increase weekly rest to 48 hours, reduce night landings from 6 to 2 weeks, and enforce stricter daily, weekly, and monthly caps.
01:17Pilots must now rest for twice the duration of their flight duty with at least 10 hours of rest within any 24-hour period.
01:24These rules hit Indigo, which has the most extensive nighttime network and a staffing strategy built around lean high utilization.
01:32The Federation of Indian Pilots has criticized Indigo's staffing strategy, saying the airline had two full years to prepare, but continued its hiring freeze and lean manpower model.
01:41While we met the DGCA, that something like this is going to happen, because this is their bargaining chip.
01:47And we say that heads must roll.
01:49Now, India's skies are dominated by just two players.
01:52Indigo, which has 60% market share in India, and Air India Group has about 26%, including Vistara and AIX Connect.
02:00That means 86% of the domestic market sits with just two carriers, making the system highly fragile.
02:05And for passenger, it means long queues, cancel plans, and no real alternative.
02:11My dad's fault is in my hand, and my flight is canceled.
02:14Two months, three months old, baby inside.
02:17We were helpless, actually.
02:19We go to the counter, and we say that there's no solution.
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