India’s largest carrier has relinquished more than 700 take-off and landing slots across multiple airports following a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directive that capped its winter-schedule flights by 10 %. The Statesman reports that the 24 January move comes after December operational chaos that saw mass delays and cancellations blamed on crew shortages and rostering errors.
The surrendered slots, effective for the rest of the Winter ’25-26 season, will now be re-allocated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to rival airlines able to prove aircraft and crew readiness. Competitors such as Air India Express, Akasa Air and Vistara are already lobbying for the prime morning and evening peaks at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
![IndiGo Surrenders 700 Airport Slots After DGCA Orders 10 % Winter Schedule Cut]()
For business travellers the near-term impact will be mixed: fewer IndiGo frequencies could ease congestion and improve on-time performance, but popular corporate shuttles may see less schedule choice and higher fares until other carriers back-fill capacity. Travel-policy managers should monitor fare spikes on the busiest metro corridors and consider flex hours or virtual meetings where feasible.
While adjusting travel plans in light of these schedule shake-ups, companies may also need to juggle visa paperwork on short notice. VisaHQ’s India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) enables travel managers and individual flyers to secure or renew visas for more than 200 destinations through a single dashboard, helping ensure that last-minute itinerary changes don’t run aground on documentation delays.
The episode marks a rare assertive use of slot-control powers by DGCA and may herald tighter operational-reliability criteria for Indian airlines. Mobility planners should expect closer scrutiny of crew ratios, training records and maintenance buffers when booking large group travel or charter wet leases.
The surrendered slots, effective for the rest of the Winter ’25-26 season, will now be re-allocated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to rival airlines able to prove aircraft and crew readiness. Competitors such as Air India Express, Akasa Air and Vistara are already lobbying for the prime morning and evening peaks at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
For business travellers the near-term impact will be mixed: fewer IndiGo frequencies could ease congestion and improve on-time performance, but popular corporate shuttles may see less schedule choice and higher fares until other carriers back-fill capacity. Travel-policy managers should monitor fare spikes on the busiest metro corridors and consider flex hours or virtual meetings where feasible.
While adjusting travel plans in light of these schedule shake-ups, companies may also need to juggle visa paperwork on short notice. VisaHQ’s India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) enables travel managers and individual flyers to secure or renew visas for more than 200 destinations through a single dashboard, helping ensure that last-minute itinerary changes don’t run aground on documentation delays.
The episode marks a rare assertive use of slot-control powers by DGCA and may herald tighter operational-reliability criteria for Indian airlines. Mobility planners should expect closer scrutiny of crew ratios, training records and maintenance buffers when booking large group travel or charter wet leases.
