Concerns are mounting within the Indian aviation sector as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) continues to delay the release of the December 2025 civil aviation statistics. The delay has raised eyebrows among industry analysts and passenger rights groups, as December was the setting for one of the most significant operational meltdowns in the history of Indian domestic travel, centered on the country’s largest carrier IndiGo.
Monthly reports track airline health
The DGCA releases a monthly report of domestic air traffic, which includes passenger growth, passenger load factor, cancellations, airline-wise and airport-wise on-time performance, market share, passenger complaints and revenue of airlines. These reports are the "gold standard" for measuring airline health in India and are published by the 20th of the following month but the data for December is yet to be published as on February 2.
Previous years’ data punctual
Notably, the data for December 2023 was released by DGCA on January 15, 2024 and similarly, the data for December 2024 was released by January 23, 2025. Although the data for August and September 2025 was delayed for a month, the work was on track with the October data being released on November 28. Similarly, the November 2025 data was also released on December 26.
IndiGo crisis hits industry
The December 2025 data becomes very crucial for the industry as it saw one of the worst operational crises of any Indian airline. IndiGo, which commands a dominant market share of over 60%, faced a catastrophic scheduling crisis in early December 2025 as it cancelled 5,689 flights in the month, affecting over 9 lakh passengers.
Pilot fatigue rules blamed
The crisis was primarily triggered by the airline's failure to transition to new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules mandated by the DGCA. These rules, designed to mitigate pilot fatigue, significantly increased mandatory rest periods and reduced the number of night landings permitted per crew member.
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Industry speculates on delay
Failure to release the data has led to concerns and speculations among the industry insiders. "The delay is unusual. Usually, these numbers are out by the middle of the following month. By withholding December's data, the scale of the disruption and how much it benefited competitors like Air India and Akasa Air, remains speculative rather than official,” said an executive of an Indian airline.
Investigation may be ongoing
Sources suggest the delay may be due to the sheer volume of data being scrutinised. The DGCA is also investigating whether airlines engaged in "crisis profiteering" by hiking fares five-to-ten-fold during the IndiGo shortage. Until these numbers are released, the full extent of the damage to passenger confidence and the reshuffling of the Indian aviation hierarchy remains a matter of debate.
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