Government says 2,645 posts vacant at AAI, 3 aviation regulators

A total of 2,645 positions are lying vacant at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and three aviation regulators, DGCA, BCAS and AERA, the government said on Thursday (February 5, 2026).

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said adequate steps are taken from time to time to fill up vacancies under the Ministry, including its attached offices and regulatory bodies.

At the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there are 787 vacancies, largely due to the creation of 441 additional posts as part of the restructuring undertaken during 2022-2024.

The Minister said that at the Airports Authority of India (AAI), there are 1,667 vacancies pertaining to direct recruitment (executive) posts.

“To address these, AAI has expedited recruitment, redeployed staff at operationally sensitive airports, created additional ATCO posts in line with expanding airspace requirements…,” he said.

ATCO refers to Air Traffic Controllers.

According to the Minister, at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), 180 and 11 positions are vacant, respectively.

“BCAS and AERA are deputation-based organisations; vacancy circulars are issued periodically to fill posts in accordance with the prescribed norms,” he added.

In a separate written reply, Mr. Mohol said that a total of 6,936 flights were cancelled by IndiGo during the last three months affecting 10,81,680 passengers.

He also said that over optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness along with deficiencies in system software support, shortcomings in management structure and operational control were among the reasons for the airline’s flight cancellations in December 2025.

Additionally, during December 2025 a considerable number of flights were cancelled due to adverse weather, he added.