New Delhi: India’s aviation network has been plunged into disruption, with nearly half of all domestic flights cancelled over the past three days—largely at IndiGo—stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers and forcing the regulator to blink and soften its newly-tightened pilot fatigue norms. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday gave IndiGo time until 10 February to comply with limits on consecutive night operations, a pause the government says is essential to restore stability even as pilots and safety experts warn the move undermines hard-won fatigue protections.

The directorate had proposed to roll out two rules for all airlines. The first, which came into effect from 1 July asked airlines to give pilots weekly rest of up to 48 hours, up from 36 hours, and also prohib

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