IndiGo hikes cockpit crew allowances for captains, first officers from 2026 days after mass disruption: Details here

IndiGo has revised cockpit crew allowances for its Captains and First Officers effective January 1, 2026, the airline said on Monday.

The move follows severe flight disruptions that plagued the airline earlier this month, which saw it forced to cancel around 4,500 flights and leave hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded across the country.

The central government had to relax night watch rules for pilots due to widespread disruptions and to give IndiGo time to stabilize operations.

IndiGo stated in its statement that if the domestic stay is between 10:01 and 24 hours, the eligible captain ₹2,000, they’re taking it now ₹3,000; First Officer who has previously earned this right ₹1,000, will get it now ₹1,500.

For every hour exceeding 24 hours, the captain; ₹150 (skip ahead) ₹100) While the First Mate is getting ₹75 (skip ahead) ₹50).

Similarly, deadheading, night permits, tail change permits and transit permits have also been increased.

Here are the new payment terms:

dead head allowance: There were previously granted rights to the captain and co-pilot during the flight. ₹3000 and ₹1,500 per planned block hour respectively. Appropriations have now been increased ₹4000 for captain and ₹2000 for first officer.

night allowance: Previously, both the master and the chief officer were entitled to receive allowances “on the basis of 1.5 x Multiplier, according to which night hours will be taken into account in calculating sector hours.”

The captain will now be paid ₹The chief officer will be entitled to an allowance of 2,000 per hour per night. ₹1,000 per night hour.

Tail change allowance: This is the latest addition to IndiGo’s allowance provisions for cockpit crew. Tail change allowance was not provided before, but now captains and first officers will have the right to change tail. ₹1,500 and ₹750 per queue, but with the following stipulation: “Applies to all combinations of Operations sectors and/or Deadhead sectors within the mission period. Does not apply to Deadhead to Deadhead sectors.”

transit allowance: Previously, if there was no lounge connection, meal allowance was given to the captain and the chief officer. ₹500 if the stoppage is more than 2 hours. It will now be the captain’s right. ₹1000 per hour when recruiting first officer ₹500 per hour.

The airline also said the Transit Allowance will be pro-rated for all domestic stopovers exceeding 90 minutes and will be “valid at all domestic stations regardless of lounge connectivity.”

The limit for this will be 4 hours as a hotel room will be provided beyond this.

The airline also said that “Queue Swaps stopping for more than 90 minutes will be eligible to receive both a Queue Swap and Transit Allowance.”

An email sent to pilots by Ashim Mittra, the airline’s senior vice president of flight operations, reveals that the move to increase these allowances and introduce new ones came after executives visited different bases and met with pilots. Reuters reported.