NEW DELHI: Efficient and advanced planning by the Tata-owned Air India Group ensured that both Air India and Air India Express sailed through smoothly after the revised roster chart for airline crew, ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, came into effect from November 1.

The poor management and negligence by Indigo resulted in 1,232 cancellations last month, which cascaded into a full-blown catastrophe from December 1, crippling airport operations in the country. It even brought operations at the country’s busiest airport, Indira Gandhi International Airport, to a standstill for 24 hours.

Way back in October, when the Ministry of Civil Aviation finalised the winter schedule (October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026) for all airlines, Indigo was permitted to operate 15,014 departures per week, the maximum permitted for any airline. Air India and Air India Express were a far second and third, allotted 4,277 and 3,171 flights respectively per week.

Sources across Air India said the new Flight Duty Time Limitations were undoubtedly a huge challenge, as literally everything had to be changed. The DGCA had informed all the airlines by March 2024 that they had to be implemented, and airlines kept seeking time to implement them as it was a mammoth task.

Air India began recruitment of Captains and Flying Officers as soon as it officially took over the airline two years ago, said a source.