New Delhi, Dec. 13 -- Dear reader,

More than a week of chaos in Indian aviation has exposed how fragile the system is when dominated by a single airline.

IndiGo cancelled more than 2,000 flights after new crew duty rules took effect. These rules cap flying hours to reduce pilot fatigue. They were announced in early 2024 with a phased rollout, yet IndiGo was unprepared. Its lean staffing model, once key to controlling costs, left it with too few pilots per aircraft, even as its fleet kept expanding. When the new norms kicked in, the airline could not cope.

Since IndiGo operates more than half of all domestic flights, the disruption quickly paralysed the entire network. Other carriers lacked the capacity to absorb stranded passengers. Th...