India withdraws pilot rest policy after IndiGo chaos

India's aviation ministry on Friday rolled back a new policy of weekly rest for pilots after chaos caused by hundreds of flight cancellations by the country's biggest airline, IndiGo. Airports across India have been in disarray since Monday, with the private carrier blaming the disruption on "unforeseen operational challenges".

On Thursday, IndiGo admitted to aviation regulators that "misjudgement and planning gaps" in adapting to new rules led to the operational meltdown, even though it had two years to prepare for the switch. The new rules came into effect last month with the aim of giving pilots more rest periods to enhance passenger safety.