The civil aviation ministry on Thursday set up a slot coordination committee to redistribute airport slots that were vacated after IndiGo cancelled a large number of flights in December, a move aimed at better utilisation of capacity and minimising inconvenience to passengers.

An official order dated January 22 said the committee is chaired by Joint Secretary (Airports) Rubina Ali and has already held its first meeting on January 13, during which the process and guiding principles for reallocating the slots were finalised.

The move follows a government order issued on December 9, 2025, directing a 10% cut in IndiGo’s operations after several days of widespread flight disruptions. The ministry had said at the time that internal mismanagement by the airline had caused severe inconvenience to passengers across the country. Prior to the curtailment, IndiGo was operating around 2,200 flights a day.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu had announced the reduction in IndiGo’s slots on X, saying the step was necessary to stabilise the airline’s operations and reduce cancellations. He said while complying with the order, IndiGo would continue to serve all its destinations.

The order said the vacated slots would be made available in line with the ministry’s slot allocation guidelines and specified conditions. It stressed that surrendered slots should not remain unused where additional capacity can be deployed, although no deadline has been set for airlines to apply.

Preference will be given to airlines that can add fresh capacity by deploying additional aircraft, pilots, cabin crew, ground support equipment and maintenance engineers, rather than by simply reshuffling existing flights. Airlines will also have to share details of their operational readiness, failing which allotted slots could be cancelled and reassigned. The order also clarified that existing routes or sector connectivity cannot be discontinued to utilise the vacated slots.

Airlines have been asked to submit their requests and preferences for the vacated slots to the respective airport operators, confirming adherence to the laid-down conditions. Airport operators will then compile the requests and forward them to the committee for consideration.

The final allocation of slots will be decided by the committee, which may involve other stakeholders in its deliberations if required.