IndiGo has vacated more than 700 flight slots at domestic airports after aviation regulator DGCA cut the airline’s winter schedule by 10% following widespread operational disruptions in early December, sources said.

Slots refer to designated time windows allotted to airlines for aircraft take-off and landing.

Of the 717 slots vacated by IndiGo, 364 are at six major metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Most of these slots are from Hyderabad and Bengaluru, according to the sources.

The vacated slots are spread across the January–March period. Data shows that 361 slots have been vacated for March, 43 for February, and another 361 for January.

Following this, the civil aviation ministry on Thursday invited other airlines to apply for the slots that IndiGo has given up.

“IndiGo has submitted a list of 717 slots to the ministry after its domestic winter schedule was reduced by 10% in early December last year,” a source said.

IndiGo, which usually operates more than 2,200 flights a day, cut services after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) intervened to curb last-minute cancellations and stabilise operations.

Under its winter schedule for 2025–26, IndiGo was cleared to operate 15,014 flights a week, or about 2,144 flights per day. A 10% reduction brought this down to around 1,930 domestic flights daily. For comparison, the airline operated an average of 2,022 flights a day during the summer schedule.

The DGCA’s action followed major disruptions between December 3 and 5, when IndiGo cancelled 2,507 flights and delayed another 1,852, affecting more than three lakh passengers nationwide.

Industry executives said the vacated slots may not attract much interest from rival airlines. “These slots can only be operated till the end of March, after which they may revert to IndiGo. It’s not practical to plan new routes for such a short period,” one executive said.

Another executive noted that many of the vacated slots are for red-eye flights, operated late at night or in the early hours, making them even less appealing.

In a communication sent to airlines on Thursday, the civil aviation ministry said the committee formed to redistribute IndiGo’s vacated slots held its first meeting on January 13 to finalise the process and principles.

Airlines have now been asked to submit their preferences to the respective airport operators, subject to several conditions. One key condition is that airlines must not discontinue existing routes in order to use the vacated slots. The final decision on redistribution will rest with airport operators.

Earlier, on January 17, the DGCA imposed fines totalling ₹22.20 crore on IndiGo over the December disruptions and issued warnings to CEO Pieter Elbers and two other senior executives.

The regulator also directed the airline to furnish a ₹50 crore bank guarantee to ensure long-term corrective measures.

On January 20, the DGCA said the disruptions were caused by poor crew management, inadequate regulatory preparedness, gaps in system software support, and weaknesses in management structure and operational control.