IndiGo, the country's largest airline, is once again in the news. The company has relinquished more than 700 slots at various domestic airports across the country.

DGCA action impacts IndiGo's decision to surrender over 700 slots, creating opportunities for other airlines.

IndiGo Airline Slots Cut: The country's largest airline, IndiGo, is once again in the news. The company has relinquished over 700 of its slots at various domestic airports across the country. This decision follows strict action by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which directed the reduction of winter flights. This move is believed to be directly related to the major disruption that occurred in December last year. 

In fact, passengers faced significant inconvenience in early December. Between December 3 and 5, approximately 2,507 IndiGo flights were cancelled, while 1,852 flights were delayed.

During this time, passengers had to wait for hours at airports, affecting over three lakh people. Taking this matter seriously, the DGCA took action. Following this, IndiGo has now decided to relinquish several of its slots.  

The schedule was changed after DGCA's strictness.

Following the chaos in December, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) took a tough stand against IndiGo, reducing its winter schedule by 10%. This resulted in the airline having to cancel several flights.

In response to this directive, IndiGo has now submitted a list of 717 slots it has surrendered to the ministry. Slots are designated times for aircraft takeoff and landing at airports.

Metro airports are most affected.

The biggest impact of IndiGo's decision to relinquish 717 slots is expected at airports in major metropolitan areas. According to reports, IndiGo has decided to vacate approximately 364 slots at six major airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

Hyderabad and Bengaluru have seen the largest reductions. These slots are scheduled between January and March, which could impact flights to these cities.

The government gave other airlines a chance.

To minimize inconvenience to passengers, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has taken alternative steps in this regard. The Ministry has sought applications from other airlines for these vacant slots.

So that flight operations can continue as smoothly as before. However, the government has made it clear that no airline will close its existing routes to acquire new slots. This will ensure that passenger convenience is not significantly affected.