The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) issued a letter on Wednesday to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) alleging that IndiGo imposed a “hiring freeze” despite having a two-year window to prepare for the full rollout of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew.“Despite the two-year preparatory window before full FDTL implementation, the airline inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze, entered non-poaching arrangements, maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour, and demonstrated other short-sighted planning practices,” FIP said, as cited by PTI.

It further asked the DGCA to consider reallocating IndiGo’s slots to carriers capable of operating them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if the airline continues to “fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages.”The pilots’ body emphasised that the recent surge in IndiGo flight cancellations is not related to the Delhi High Court–mandated FDTL regulations for pilots.“All other airlines have provisioned pilots adequately and remain largely unaffected due to timely planning and preparation,” FIP said. “The current disruption is the direct consequence of IndiGo’s prolonged and unorthodox lean manpower strategy across departments, particularly in-flight operations,” it added. After phase 1 of the FDTL norms came into force on July 1, the FIP said “IndiGo reduced pilot leave quotas,” and following the implementation of phase 2 on November 1, “attempted to buy back pilot leave.”“These measures saw poor response and further damaged pilot and employee morale — especially in a year when airline executives took home record increments approaching or exceeding 100 per cent, while simultaneously blaming pilot migration instead of investing in retention and workplace improvements,” said FIP. On Wednesday, IndiGo cancelled more than 150 flights and faced lengthy delays across several airports, citing multiple factors, including crew shortages linked to the rollout of the new FDTL norms.According to civil aviation ministry data, just 19.7 per cent of IndiGo’s flights were on time across six major airports.FIP urged the regulator not to approve airlines’ seasonal schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate flights “safely and reliably” under the new norms. It added that even as the busy winter fog season began, a period that naturally requires higher pilot availability, IndiGo expanded its winter schedule “without recruiting or training additional pilots,” raising concerns about operational responsibility.The letter also pointed out that, in keeping with international practice, the Indian aviation regulator approves two schedules for domestic airlines each year: the winter schedule (late October to late March) and the summer schedule (late March to late October).The latest FDTL norms, which increase weekly rest periods to 48 hours, extend night duty hours, and reduce the number of permissible night landings from six to two, were initially opposed by domestic airlines, including IndiGo and Tata Group-owned Air India. Although the rules were originally scheduled for implementation in March 2024, carriers sought a phased rollout, citing the need for additional crew to meet the revised requirements.

The EU’s former foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has been accused of fraud as part of an EU investigation into the misuse of funds, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has said.

The EPPO said searches were carried out on Tuesday at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, headed by Ms Mogherini, as well as the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels – the office she ran for five years as the bloc’s top diplomat.

The investigation relates to EU-funded training for junior diplomats, the EPPO said.

As well as Ms Mogherini, a senior College of Europe staff member and a senior official from the European Commission were detained, the prosecutor’s office added.

According to the EPPO, the three were formally told of the allegations against them: “the accusations concern procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy.”

The three accused were all subsequently released as they were not considered a flight risk and their homes were also searched.

After a reported 10 hours of questioning, Ms Mogherini issued a statement saying she had “clarified my position with the investigators”, adding that, “in its long tradition, the College has always applied and will continue to apply the highest standards of integrity and fairness”.

“I have full confidence in the justice system, and I trust that the correctness of the College’s actions will be ascertained. I will obviously continue to offer my full collaboration to the authorities,” she said.

Under Belgian law, a person can be arrested then released without being charged, while remaining a suspect.

The EPPO said the investigation focused on a tender that the EEAS awarded to the College of Europe in 2021-2022.

It added that there were “strong suspicions” of favouritism related to the tender for a nine-month training course for junior diplomats.

The EPPO, which investigates alleged crimes against the financial interests of the EU, did not name the three people questioned but said the immunity of several suspects had been lifted as part of the investigation.

The College of Europe is an independent school attended by aspiring EU civil servants. It is closely associated with and partly funded by the EU.