Civil Aviation Ministry Reclaims IndiGo Slots; Airlines Unable to Absorb Vacant Capacity
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has taken back 10% of its flights from IndiGo, but it is unclear whether other airlines will be able to fill these vacant slots. IndiGo was scheduled to operate a maximum of 15,014 flights in the 2025 winter schedule. According to experts, Air India is trying to stabilize its network after the Vistara merger, and smaller airlines do not have the capacity to fill so many slots. The ministry will monitor airfares.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has withdrawn 10% of the flight slots allocated to IndiGo. However, it remains to be seen whether other airlines would be able to use these vacant slots.
A look at the Winter Schedule 2025, released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on October 24, 2025, makes it clear that no other airline in the country is in a position to take the slots vacated by IndiGo.
According to the ministry's data, the total weekly flights in the Winter Schedule 2025 (October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026) will be 26,495, a 5.95 percent increase compared to the previous Winter Schedule 2024.
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Of these, IndiGo was to operate the highest number of flights, 15,014, every week. It clearly emerges that, as compared to other airlines, IndiGo will remain busy with its allotted flights.
Jitendra Bhargava, former executive director of Air India and an aviation sector expert, says, "IndiGo's situation is clear for all to see. Air India is trying to stabilize its network after the Vistara merger, while Akasa and other smaller airlines don't have the capacity to take on such large slots."
Most importantly, after IndiGo, Air India is operating the second-highest number of flights, 4,277, which is 0.77 percent fewer than the airline's total flights this summer. Air India Express is also operating six percent fewer flights.
SpiceJet has reported a 26 percent increase in flights, but its market share is only around three percent. On Wednesday, SpiceJet announced that it would add 100 new flights to its already scheduled flights. The company based this figure on the 17 new aircraft purchased in recent months.
Not much can be expected from Akasa Air either. It is expected to operate a higher number of flights during the busy winter season (October 2025) compared to the summer season. From March 2026, 5.7 percent fewer flights (1,027 per week) have been permitted.
Experts say that the availability of vacant slots means there will be pressure on passenger fares. However, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has stated that it will continue to monitor general class airfares on domestic routes following the IndiGo controversy.
