How Indigo ran out of pilots—gradually, then suddenly

India's largest airline crisis made headlines for weeks. Last month, Indigo  cancelled nearly 4,000 flights over 10 days, forcing the government to cut 10% of its schedules until March. 

The culprit? A severe pilot shortage that the airline had two years to prepare for.

While Air India doubled its pilot strength ahead of new flight duty rules, Indigo ended up with fewer pilots than before. The airline's response has been less than encouraging. Cut leaves, slash night allowances, and even telling unhappy pilots "where else will you go?"

With India needing 30,000 new pilots over the next 15 years, IndiGo's treatment of its crew is coming back to haunt it. And the monopoly mindset that fueled its growth may now be its biggest liability.

Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.