IndiGo has started hiring pilots again

IndiGo has started hiring pilots again

IndiGo has lifted its pilot hiring freeze and started recruiting Captains and Senior First Officers for its Airbus A320 fleet.

The move comes after the airline received a temporary waiver from the Indian government to comply with new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) had earlier alleged that IndiGo imposed a 'hiring freeze' despite being aware of these changes.

New FDTL norms suspended until February 2026

On December 5, the Ministry of Civil Aviation suspended the new FDTL norms for IndiGo until February 10, 2026.

The decision came after a record-breaking cancellation of over 1,000 flights in a single day yesterday.

The airline has also announced recruitment for cabin attendants (grade trainee) for female Indian nationals aged between 18-27 years with relocation flexibility at any IndiGo base.

IndiGo's recruitment criteria and operational challenges

The recruitment for A320 Captains and above requires applicants to be Indian nationals or OCI cardholders under 62 years of age.

They must have a total flying experience of 3,000 hours with a minimum of 100 hours as pilot in command (PIC) post line release on the A320 family.

Despite these hiring efforts, IndiGo's operations have been marred by delays and cancellations, affecting its on-time performance metric.

IndiGo's commitment to restoring operations

After the massive flight cancellations, IndiGo said it is working hard to restore its operations across the network.

"Our teams are focused on stabilizing schedules, reducing delays, and supporting customers through this period," the airline said.

It added that the number of cancellations has decreased to below 850 flights today from yesterday's figure and is working toward further reduction in the coming days.