Tag Archives: travel

INDIGO STANDARD TIME (IST)

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Frequent flyers on Indigo will be wryly familiar with the standard announcement by the lead cabin crew when the flight lands at the destination- invariably highlighting the before time arrival -Indigo Standard Time. On the 3rd Dec 2025, India’s premier airline went into a tailspin with hundreds of flights being cancelled due to ‘Operational problems’; hundreds more were delayed by hours and some even by a day. On the 5th December the number of cancelled flights had reached a shocking 1000. How did Indigo with 19 relatively turbulence free years in the Indian skies find itself grounded in such an abject manner.?!!

Let’s first have a dekko at the Indian domestic aviation industry 2025. Indigo, which took off in 2006, has a 64% share in the market. It has 430 aircraft and flies 90 plus routes. (Statista data). In a duopoly scenario its only competitor is the Tata owned Air India and Air India Express- which has around 300 aircraft and 27 % of the market share. Akasa with a fleet of 30 aircraft has a 5% share and the struggling Spice Jet with 15 planes and 2.5% share.

One of the most effective expose and insights about the Indigo crisis was played out by Madeeha Mujawar on CNBC TV18 and a news article. The fiasco was not caused by a lack of pilots; but by a mismatch between manpower on paper and pilots actually available to fly. Especially in the context of the stricter FDTL Phase 2 rules (Flight Duty Time Limitation) which came into effect from the 1st Nov 2025.

In November the airlines operated 1980 flights per day. This slumped to 700 on the 5th December sparking off all the uproar and furore. There were more than 4455 pilots on roster showing a shortage of only 65 commanders. The airline, under furious attack, finally admitted to the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) that it had grossly misjudged the manpower requirement for the FDTL phase 2 regulations. Poor manpower planning even with the new fatigue and rest rules in place meant that the Ops believed that they could manage without additional crew. Although Indigo did have access and network of 630 additional pilots. As the article (referred to in the previous para) ‘Inside the Indigo Crises ‘acutely observes ‘a small commander shortage (blip) turned into a large operational vacuum. Even one wrong assumption in a tightly run network can knock the entire system off-balance.’

In a hub and spoke model like Indigo a delay in the first wave spills into the second and so on. The domino effect kicks in. Rotations began collapsing and flight cancellations surged simply because, according to the new FDTL norms, pilots could no longer operate flights assigned to them. Many Indigo pilots did turn up at the airports. Only to be told that with the new fatigue and rest rules they could not fly. The lean staffing model lacked the buffer to address the transition required by regulatory change.

The FDTL 1 had been implemented in 1992. Thereafter, for many years the Pilots Association had been demanding stricter fatigue management rules aligned with global standards through litigation in the Delhi High Court. Finally in January 2024, the DGCA under the Civil Aviation Ministry came up with major changes in regulations -CAR 2024-with the phased implementation of FDTL 2 starting on the 1st July 2025 (15 clauses) and fully enforced (7 clauses) by the 1st of Nov 2025.  The regulatory framework was designed by the DGCA, but the implementation was subject to Delhi HC oversight. The critical changes per the new norms were- weekly rest for pilots increased from 36 hours to 48 hours; capping night landings to 2 a week; limiting night duties to max 2 consecutively; defining night hours as 12 am to 6 am.

A Perfect Storm was brewing at Indigo. The silent imbalance had been blindly overlooked-enough pilots on paper but not enough pilots to legally fly the schedules the airline was actually flying. When FDTL took hold, pilots started reaching their duty limits far sooner than expected. They started filing fatigue reports; fatigue reports surged and the new rest rules tightened the squeeze. With the new regulations, Indigo could not rotate pilots quickly enough to match its tight flight schedules.

Another major blow, which should have been anticipated, was the lack of good hotel accommodation due to the peak wedding season. At some outstations, Indigo struggled to find good accommodation for their crew. Per the norms, without a designated, comfortable room for rest and sleep, pilots could not be legally rostered for the next flight.

Then, the Civil Aviation Ministry apparently ‘surrendered’ to Indigo by providing exemption from the regulations till the 10th Feb 2026. Media and social media went into uproar over this ‘cave in’ and some global bodies joined the chorus with criticism on’ compromising aviation safety and setting a bad precedent for aviation safety standards in India.’ But what exactly were the exemptions? A temporary rollback from midnight -6am to midnight-5am for more productive daily hours; temporary relaxation on nightly landing caps; withdrawal of rule preventing pilot leave from counting as weekly rest. Should the DGCA have been more diligent in keeping track with the duopoly airlines on FDTL 2. YES. They failed in their supervision duties and have to take accountability for the chaos which ensued. The DGCA is now keeping track with a 15-day review. However, the point also is that the airlines have been given enough time to set their house in order. Also, with Indigo’s dominance of the Indian aviation market and Christmas and holiday season round the corner, a balancing act had to be done. As I write this blog, indigo flights are back to 1900-1950 per day, near normal situation. Plus, as the Gulf News has declared- Regional Al Hind Air and a start-up Fly Express have been granted NOC by the Civil Aviation Ministry to operate their flights from 2026. As ICRA Outlook has observed, the air passenger traffic from April to October 2025 was just short of 9.5 crores with 1.5 crores for October itself.

Interestingly, some You Tubers have taken off with theories of Indigo deliberately engineering the crisis- a financial manoeuvre- for leveraging leasing of aircraft optimally or getting some financial favors from the Government of India. Methinks, it was the corporate hubris at Indigo, heads in the clouds and cut off from ground realities which precipitated the turmoil.

Yes, one does feel deep empathy for the passengers who bore the brunt of the cancellation of Indigo flights. The chaos and confusion did take its toll on those who had booked their flight tickets. Especially, for people who could not fly out for medical treatment or an important family event. But the fury of the aggrieved passengers was vented out on the frontline staff of the airline- overworked and undervalued as they are. Indigo has grown astoundingly over the last 2 decades, but the pilots and crew, engineers and maintenance staff and the counter staff and support team have been left behind. We are hearing Indigo voices,’ nothing happened overnight. We saw it coming.’ Look beyond the glamour and the brand. A Company which made a billion-dollar profit in the FY 23-24 (Rs 8172 crores); where intimidation is an oft-used management tool and human resources are reduced to a mere ‘ cost to Company.’ So next time you see the cabin crew or counter staff smiling and saying ‘Namaskar’ it will help to respond affably. Behind the glitz lies the same toxic glaze which haunts much of corporate India.

The Indian aviation sector has seen a lot of turbulence over the last 2 decades. Kingfisher, India’s premier airline, collapsed with its license suspended in 2012. Sadly, many of its employees had not been paid for months. Poor business strategy, gross financial mismanagement with heavy debts and inability to service bank loans sounded the death knell. Reckless expansion-especially the disastrous merger with low-cost Air Deccan grounded the airline. Similar fault lines emerged in the eventual shutdown of Jet Airways in 2019. The 2006 purchase of Air Sahara for $500 million in cash = Jet Lite, the budget carrier, which haemorrhaged so much money that by 2015 the investment had to be written off.

Lack of a sustainable business model, reckless expansion and of course volatile fuel costs have scripted the end of many well-known international airlines as well. Swiss Air, under the advice of Mc Kinsey & Co attempted to become a global powerhouse by purchasing controlling stakes in struggling European Airlines. KAPUT.!! Pan Am, TWA, Eastern Airlines, Air Berlin, Thomas Cook Airlines have all declared bankruptcy and gone out of business. The dominant reason why Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad rule the skies is because they don’t have to worry about crude oil prices or supplies.

Let’s touch down with some curious coincidences. Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant owner of Kingfisher Airlines, has been a financial fugitive living in London for over a decade. At least on 2 occasions, British Courts have helped him out in the extradition appeal from the Government of India, saying that Indian jails and cells are not clean enough for the King of Good Times. Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways, finds himself in a Mumbai prison- convicted in 2023 in a Rs 538 crores money laundering case filed by Canara Bank. The late Subrata Roy, who launched Sahara Airlines (Air Sahara) in 1993 and sold it to Jet Airways spent 2 years in Tihar Jail for financial fraud (a SEBI- Supreme Court case).

It’s worth mentioning that prior to the Tata era in mid-2021, the State- owned enterprise Air India had accumulated huge losses of Rs 70,820 crores.  In March 2023, the airline booked a loss of Rs 11,387 crores and by March 2025, a loss of Rs 9,500 crores.

Operating a successful airline is a high-profile mix of efficiency and hospitality. Operating in a huge country like India requires a grounded approach plus a 360 degree vision on all the factors and variables which will ensure smooth take-offs and landings every time.

Ram Janma Bhoomi- An Epic Saga

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On the 22nd of January 2024, Ayodhya will resonate with the euphoric chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram.’ The Pran Pratishtha ceremony leading up to the installation of the Ram Lalla idol, followed by the first Aarti will be performed by the Prime Minister-guided by Hindu Pandits- with 7000 special guests invited by the Temple Trust in attendance. The Consecration ceremony will illuminate and reverberate not only across our vast nation but also with millions of devotees across the world

Flashback. In 1885, Mahant Raghubir Das filed the first suit to build a temple on the land adjacent to the mosque. Denied permission by the District Magistrate, Faizabad. In December 1949 a Ram idol was found in the mosque and the faithful started offering prayers. The Indian Government declared the site ‘a contested area’ and locked the gates. The following year permission was granted by the Faizabad Court to conduct pooja for Sri Ram Lalla but only in the minor courtyard with the main gates remaining closed. In 1961, the UP Sunni Wakf Board filed a suit seeking possession of the Babri Masjid and demanding the removal of the Hindu idols.

It was in 1984 that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) started the Ramjanmabhoomi movement as we know it now. BJP leader Mr LK Advani took the reins of the campaign. In 1986, the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) was formed as the opposing party. In the meantime, the Shah Bano case made headlines with the Supreme Court (SC) ruling in favour of the elderly, divorced Muslim woman- that she gets monthly maintenance from her re-married husband.  This was contrary to Muslim Personal Law and to appease the conservative elements in the community, the Mr Rajiv Gandhi government with 400+ MPs in the Lok Sabha overturned the SC judgement by amending the law itself.  In this balancing act political drama, the Government in 1986 allowed the Hindus to do Pooja and have darshan after opening the gates. A tipping point of sorts happened in November 1989 when the VHP was permitted to perform Shilanyas (lay foundation stone) near the Masjid.

On to the Rath Yatra led by Mr Advani in September 1990 from Somnath (Gujarat) to Ayodhya ( Uttar Pradesh). The movement mobilised huge public support leading to the 6th of December 1992 – when Hindu karsevaks demolished the Babri Masjid and left behind a makeshift temple. More than 50 of this violent mob were killed in police firings. Communal riots broke out in many parts of the country. More than 900 died in the Mumbai riots of December 1992 and January 1993. Culminating in the deadly Mumbai serial blasts of March 1993, orchestrated by Dawood Ibrahim from Dubai. To control a volatile situation the Congress-led government passed an ordinance to acquire the ‘contested land.’

All the suits related to the Ayodhya land title dispute had been transferred to the Allahabad High Court in 1989. The needle moves to 2003. The Court authorises the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the land and give its findings with evidence. The 574-page report was submitted in August 2003. The only public takeaway was that ‘of a very large structure that considerably pre-dated the Babri Masjid’. In September 2010, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court split the land 3 ways- Ram Lalla Virajman, UP Sunni Wakf Board and Nirmohi Akhara (a Hindu order of warrior saints who managed many temples in the region).

Finally on the 9th September 2019, when a full bench of the Supreme Court of India ordered the Government of India to create a Trust to build the Ram Mandir and to form a Board of Trustees within 3 months. The entire 2.77 acres of disputed land was passed to the custody of the Trust. 5 acres of land was allotted to the UP Sunni Wakf Board at a suitable place within Ayodhya to construct a mosque.

The commonly accepted narrative is that the first Mughal Emperor Babur ordered the demolition of the Ayodhya temple in 1528 and got the Masjid built on its ground,( hence the Babri Masjid). During the arguments in the SC a reference to Babur’s visit to Ayodhya (as mentioned in Baburnama- a book by Babur) was brought up. However, the Advocate for the opposing side clarified that 2 pages of the Baburnama were missing (whether about the Ayodhya temple remains unclear). Kishore Kunal, former IPS officer, in his book ‘Ayodhya Revisited’, is of the firm opinion that the temple was not destroyed in 1528 but in 1660 by Fidayi Khan, a governor appointed by Emperor Aurangzeb. This timeline seems to be in sync with the accounts of English travellers William Finch (1608-11) an English merchant with the East India Company (EIC) and Captain William Hawkins (EIC Ambassador) who both landed in Surat in August 1608 and spent more than 2 years at Emperor Jahangir’s court. Finch visited the fort in Ayodhya where Hindus believed Lord Ram was born and mentions it in his accounts. Hawkins also refers to the sacred town of Ayodhya in his travelogues (William Foster’s book “ Early Travels in India’- accounts of 7 English travellers in India).

Perhaps, most significantly, Austrian Jesuit missionary Joseph Tiefenthaler suggests in his works that the Ram temple was demolished by Aurangzeb. This European geographer came to India in 1743 and visited Ayodhya in the 1760s.’ He refers to a particularly famous spot called Sita Rasoi- or table of Sita- the revered wife of Shri Ram. He states that Aurangzeb demolished the fortress and erected a mosque in its place to prevent heathens from practising their ceremonies. However, they have continued to practice their religious ceremonies knowing that they have been to the birthplace of Ram by going around it 3 times and prostrating on the ground. On the left is a square box called Bistar palana (cradle) where Ram (Vishnu) and his 3 brothers were born. In the month of Chaitra, a large number of people gather together to celebrate the birthday of Ram, extremely popular throughout India.’

The Ayodhya Kanda Recitation was recorded in writing by Mr Robert Montgomery after the 1857 Uprising or Mutiny as he calls it. He was the Chief Commissioner of Oudh or Avadh in 1858-59.

In 1975-76 Mr B B Lal, Director General ASI and his team started excavating the Archaeology of Ramayana- Ayodhya, Bharadwaj Ashram, Nandigram, Chitrakoot, Shringverapur In his 2008 book, ‘Rama- His Histrocity, Mandir and Setu’ he states that ‘attached to the piers of the Babri Masjid there were 12 stone pillars which carried not only typical Hindu motifs and mouldings but also figurines of Hindu deities. It was self-evident that the pillars were not an integral part of the Masjid but were foreign to it.’ Another eminent archaeologist Mr K K Muhammed who was part of the team reveals in his book, “An Indian I Am” that he found the remains of the temple on the western side of the mosque. The 12 pillars were constructed with Hindu symbolism including Ashtamangala signs (8 auspicious objects as per Hindu practice and astrology.) They also found terracotta figurines of humans-men and women- and animals.’ Mr Muhammed clearly states that ‘his findings were suppressed by Marxist historians like Prof Irfan Habib who was very powerful and influential with the Indian Council of Historical Research and with many leading newspapers’. Irfan Habib and his powerful supporters even spread the lie that Mr KK Muhammed had not been a part of the ASI excavation team at Ayodhya. This coterie also went all-out to tarnish the image of the ASI after they submitted their 2003 report to the Allahabad High Court. In the early 1980s also the ASI was under tremendous pressure to play down and not to reveal the excavation findings. Recommend that you read Mr Muhammed’s book as a tribute to his passion, courage and integrity as a professional and to learn about his other interesting digs and excavations.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) clan led by Irfan Habib had 25 influential intellectuals including Dr Romila Thapar. They hyped up the narrative that the legendary Ayodhya of the Ramayana was a purely mythical city and was not the same as present-day Ayodhya. However, they fumbled with the name Saket which historically is one and the same as Ayodhya. Their overwhelming influence with the powers that be and the Sunni Wakf Board ensured that there could not be any out-of-court compromise solution as some moderate Muslim leaders recommended. Former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Chancellor Lt General (Retd) Zameeruddin Shaikh said that the Muslims should take the initiative of handing over the land to the Hindus and facilitate a harmonious out-of-court settlement. In November 2019, before the Supreme Court judgement the then AMU Chancellor and Professor Tariq Mansoor cautioned the students against false propaganda. They should accept the decision of the highest court with maturity, respect and restraint.

The Nay-Sayers and Obstructionists were in for a shock when during the demolition of the Masjid in 1992, 3 inscriptions on large stones were found. The most important was the Vishnu-Hari inscription of 20 lines in the Nagari script on a 1.10m by 0.56m stone. Shri Ajay Shastri, Chairman of the Epigraphical Society of India examined the inscriptions and observed, ‘Line 15 clearly tells us that a beautiful temple of Vishnu-Hari built with heaps of stones and beautified by golden spires, unparalleled by any other temple built by earlier kings was constructed. This wonderful temple was built in the temple city of Ayodhya situated in the Saketmandala ( Saket district). Line 19 describes God Vishnu as destroying Bali and the 10-headed personage.’ Prof Meenakshi Jain again exposes Irfan Habib who first dismissed the inscription as from a private collection and then alleged that it was stolen from the Lucknow museum and surreptitiously placed at the site. In fact, the Lucknow museum inscription was the ‘Tretha ka Thakur’ one –another Ayodhya temple demolished at Aurangzeb’s orders. The Director of the Lucknow Museum refuted the canard spread by Habib and displayed the inscription in the custody of the museum.

After the Supreme Court judgement, it was decided by the Sunni Wakf Board and the Management Committee that the mosque would be constructed on a 5-acre land at Dhannipur, around 25 km from the temple. It will be named after the Holy Prophet of Islam- Mohammed Bin Abdullah Masjid. Top clerics from several countries would be invited including the Honourable Imam, who leads the prayers at the Grand Mosque of Mecca. It will be the largest mosque in India and will have the world’s biggest Quran- measuring 21ft high and 36ft wide.

It is imperative to see the Ram Janmabhoomi saga in the global context. In 2020, the Erdogan-led government in Turkiye converted the famous UNESCO-declared heritage site and cultural museum, Hagia Sophia, into a mosque. It had earlier been a Christian Orthodox Church and Mosque and a Museum since 1934. The Icons of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Christ were covered by fabric curtains. Since 2017, the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party has destroyed or closed down hundreds of mosques in Xinjiang province (North-West) and Ningxia and Gansu provinces in the North – where the majority of the Muslim populace live. Total silence from our Comrade intellectuals. Going back to 1490- the Spanish Crown ordered all the Muslims to convert to Christianity. Over the next 100 years 3 million Muslims fled from Spain to North Africa. The last of the Moors adhering to Islam were expelled in 1610. The Iconic Cathedral of Cordoba, dedicated to Santa Maria, had been a mosque till the 13th century. Unfortunately, world history is replete with such events. Hark back to the cautionary words attributed to Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana,’ those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’ Discussion, Reconciliation and even some Compromise may be the only way out through difficult, divisive situations.

So on the 22nd of January, Ayodhyanagari will rejoice to the traditional sound of the conches and bells; the melodious bhajans and kirtans; the overwhelming fragrance of fresh flowers and incense. At night time, there will be thousands of lamps on the banks of the river Sarayu. In the months after the temple inauguration, around 1 lakh pilgrims each day are expected at Ayodhya.  Hotels, Hostels and homestays will be full to capacity and beyond. Buses and cabs will be on demand 24/7. Restaurants will have stand-and-eat tables and nukkad chai shops will struggle to keep pace with the relentless sipping of the beverage. Flower sellers and general merchants will be constantly stocking up their wares. The ancient town of Ayodhya, whilst retaining its spiritual core, will transform into a bustling city with a classic airport and railway station and with all the amenities.

The economic boom will be humongous for lakhs of local people in the city and the neighbourhood- transcending religion and communities.