The crisis in the country’s civil aviation sector deepened on Saturday (December 6). During this, DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers and sought answers on the massive delays, cancellations and operational chaos in flights. The regulator has asked them to provide an explanation within 24 hours, warning that failure to respond in time will lead to strict punitive action.
DGCA said in the notice that IndiGo’s mismanagement has forced passengers to suffer serious inconvenience, hardship and stress. According to the notice, the main reason for the disruption in operations was the airline not making necessary arrangements for the smooth implementation of the approved Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) scheme. The regulator described the entire crisis as the result of serious lapses in planning, monitoring and resource management.
The notice also said that IndiGo did not comply with mandatory facilities and information to be made available to passengers in case of flight cancellations, long delays and denied boarding. The DGCA held the CEO directly responsible, saying he had failed in his duty and did not ensure that passengers got reliable services and facilities in line with their entitlements.
IndiGo’s operational situation had deteriorated for the fifth consecutive day and passenger woes were increasing at major airports across the country. Indigo’s network almost came to a standstill due to the cancellation of more than 850 flights on Saturday itself.
Passengers across the country faced difficulties like long queues, miss-connections, late baggage and disorganized support system. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the Civil Aviation Ministry has directed IndiGo to clear all pending refunds by Sunday (December 7) evening and deliver the scattered baggage to the passengers within two days. The airline has also been asked to create a dedicated passenger-support and refund-facilitation cell.
Senior IndiGo officials met with the Ministry today to brief them about the steps that are being taken to restore services and prevent further cancellations.
Amidst this crisis, Air India Group Air India and Air India Express is coming forward and trying to provide relief to the passengers. The group has limited economy fares on domestic non-stop flights, waived one-time rebooking/cancellation charges on eligible bookings, deployed additional staff at call centers and increased seat capacity on various routes.
Where possible, eligible passengers may be upgraded to a higher cabin at no additional charge to ensure full utilization of available seats. Additional flights are also being operated so that passengers and their baggage can reach their destination quickly. The ongoing operational crisis on IndiGo’s network has become one of the most serious airline disruption situations the country has ever seen, and potential action by the DGCA will be a watchdog in the coming days.
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