DGCA investigation committee submitted report, lack of crew and lapse in preparation were the major reasons for cancellation of thousands of flights –

digital desk- The investigation committee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has submitted its report into the large-scale cancellation of flights by the country’s largest airline IndiGo in early December. However, this report has been kept confidential for the time being. According to sources, copies of the investigation report have been handed over to Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu and Civil Aviation Secretary Sameer Kumar Sinha’s office. Based on this report, further action is being discussed. Considering the seriousness of this matter, DGCA had constituted a high level investigation committee on December 5. The committee is headed by DGCA Joint Director General Sanjay K. Brahmins were doing it. The investigation committee was given the responsibility to find out why such a large number of IndiGo flights had to be canceled and whether there was any reason behind it like negligence or collusion of the airline management or officials.

More than 1,600 flights canceled in a day

In the initial week of December, IndiGo flights were largely affected across the country. Flights were canceled from almost every major and minor airport. More than 1,600 flights had to be canceled in a single day. Apart from this, many flights departed late by hours, due to which passengers had to face a lot of trouble at the airport. Many passengers missed their connecting flights, while business and family trips were also badly affected.

Failure to prepare for new rules

According to sources related to the investigation, Indigo was not able to make complete preparations in time to implement the new rules related to crew member deployment and rest. As soon as the new rules came into force, the airline did not have enough pilots and cabin crew available, which had a direct impact on the operation of flights. It was told that Indigo was already facing crew shortage, but despite this the flight schedule was not changed on time. In view of the increasing complaints and chaos of passengers, the government had taken a tough stand against IndiGo. The Civil Aviation Ministry had decided to temporarily give 10 percent of IndiGo’s flights to other airlines. Along with this, a show cause notice was also issued to the CEO of Indigo, in which a reply was sought regarding the cancellation of flights without prior notice.

Questions raised on low-cost strategy

After this entire incident, questions have also been raised on Indigo’s low-cost strategy. Experts believe that dependence on limited resources to keep costs low is now creating problems for the company. Passengers had to bear the brunt of Indigo’s negligence, which has once again highlighted the need for better planning and accountability in the aviation sector.