4 min readJan 29, 2026 10:12 AM IST
First published on: Jan 29, 2026 at 10:12 AM IST
The Delhi High Court Wednesday, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation raising concerns on the “illegal dilution of fatigue norms” for airlines’ pilots, told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take instructions on the issue and report back to the court Thursday, even as IndiGo questioned the maintainability of the PIL.
In their PIL, Sabari Roy Lenka, a former aircraft engineer, Aman Monga, a crew resource management trainer, and Kiran Singh, a social worker, have objected to the relaxation of the weekly rest clause as stipulated under the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, by way of a DGCA order on December 5, 2025.
The relaxation came following en masse IndiGo flight cancellations and delays, leading to a collapse and chaos in the aviation sector.
Highlighting that the relaxation has “increased accident risk, pilot fatigue exposure”, the petitioners have also objected to Indigo and other airlines marketing themselves as “low cost airline”.
The petitioners seek that DGCA’s December order be quashed and set aside, and that all scheduled airlines operating in India be immediately restrained from describing, projecting, or advertising themselves as “low cost airlines” on their websites, booking portals, etc., as there is no such statutory recognition under the laws and rules.
IndiGo, which is the only airline made a party to the litigation, represented by Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, raised an objection to the maintainability of the petition, questioning the petitioners’ locus. “How are they concerned? They are not a pilot.”
‘New regulations are not being practically followed’
While the bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia orally observed that the DGCA order only allowed for deferment of implementing the FDTL norms in toto in the back of the IndiGo crisis, CJ Upadhyaya, addressing IndiGo’s counsel, orally remarked, “We cannot straightaway rule out his standing. Petitioner 1 has been an aircraft engineer”.
“The regulator has prescribed a certain period of rest for the pilots. This has a direct link to passenger safety. So, the concern cannot be ruled out altogether. If the regulator has provided some regulations, unless they are challenged or there is an inherent flaw, it needs to enforce them. The new regulations are not being practically followed… So concerns expressed in the petition cannot be brushed aside.”
“The petition points out public safety in general, so we can’t say that the petition can’t be maintained. It is only that at the moment, there must be some rationale available with DGCA (for putting the norms in abeyance),” CJ Upadhyaya added orally.
The new FDTL rules were implemented in two phases to better manage pilot fatigue, a key risk to aviation safety. Under the new rules, the weekly rest period for pilots was increased to 48 hours from 36, and night landings were limited to two from six earlier.
The night-duty-related changes took effect on November 1, 2025, and began affecting IndiGo’s flight operations, as the airline operates a significant number of night-time flights and relies on high utilisation rates for aircraft and crew.
The exemptions granted to IndiGo include that the airline’s definition of “night” will be midnight to 5 am, instead of midnight to 6 am, as prescribed in the new FDTL rules. The exemptions also allow IndiGo pilots flying during these hours to perform up to six landings, whereas the new norms capped night landings at just two.
Highlighting that the relaxation has “increased accident risk, pilot fatigue exposure”, the petitioners have also objected to Indigo and other airlines marketing themselves as “low cost airline”. 
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