IndiGo, India's largest airline, is under scrutiny from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and is required to submit a report this week, likely by Monday, detailing its operational capacity to fly over 2,000 daily flights after February 10, 2026. This date marks the end of temporary exemptions granted by the DGCA regarding new, stricter Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules for A320 fleet pilots. The revised FDTL norms, designed to enhance safety by increasing mandatory rest periods and capping duty hours for pilots, were a primary factor behind the massive flight disruptions IndiGo experienced in December 2025. During the December crisis, which saw over 300,000 passengers stranded due to 2,507 cancellations and 1,852 delays between December 3-5, IndiGo acknowledged "misjudgement and planning gaps" in adapting to the new pilot rest policy. Consequently, the DGCA imposed a record fine of ₹22.2 crore (approximately $2.45 million) on IndiGo on January 17, 2026, citing multiple violations and deficiencies in operational planning and management oversight. The fine includes a daily penalty for continued non-compliance until February 10. IndiGo has already reduced its flight schedule by 10% following the December fiasco and currently operates about 2,200 daily flights. To mitigate further disruptions post-February 10, the airline is considering a "short-term network readjustment" and plans to shift some routes from Airbus A320s to ATR turboprops. The aviation ministry and DGCA are closely monitoring IndiGo's preparedness, with a clear directive to prevent a recurrence of last December's chaos, indicating that authorities are ready to intervene with capacity cuts if the airline cannot comply with the new FDTL rules. The Federation of Indian Pilots, however, has criticized the DGCA's fine as insufficient, arguing that the disruptions lasted longer than the three days considered in the official probe.