‘…Phir Se Sorry…’, IndiGo’s big announcement on refunds and flight rescheduling, DGCA also withdraws crew rest rule
- Big announcement from IndiGo on refunds and flight rescheduling
- Major inconvenience to passengers at airports across the country
- All flights will be fully reimbursed to passengers without official request
IndiGo flights were being canceled all over the country. Also many flights were delayed. Due to this, thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country have to face untold hardship. DGCA’s (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) new crew rest rules led to the cancellation and delay of several IndiGo Airlines flights, causing major inconvenience to passengers at airports across the country. Considering the inconvenience to passengers, the DGCA has now withdrawn the ‘Weekend Leave’ order, allowing air services to resume normality. Meanwhile, the airline made an important announcement, stating that all canceled flights between December 5 and 15 will be fully refunded to passengers without an official request.
DGCA’s new FDTL rules applicable to all, so why the biggest impact on Indigo? Find out why
IndiGo also said that there will be no charges for ticket cancellation or schedule changes during this period. The airline has made thousands of hotel and transportation arrangements across the country to minimize inconvenience to passengers. Airports are also providing meals and snacks and providing lounge access to senior citizens wherever possible.
More than 750 flights were affected today (December 5). This is the highest number this week. Commuters were stranded for hours in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The situation was particularly dire in Delhi, where all 235 IndiGo flights were cancelled.
What exactly did the airline say?
“We sincerely apologize and understand the inconvenience the past few days have caused for many of you,” the airline said. Also, this crisis will not end overnight, but in the meantime, IndiGo will do everything in our power to help you and restore our services as soon as possible, the airline said.
IndiGo attributed the crisis to a sudden shortage of pilots, winter schedule, technical glitches and congestion in the aviation system. The airline also said that the existing FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitation) rules led to a shortage of pilots, further disrupting operations during peak hours.
What did the DGCA say?
DGCA has issued a notification in this regard. The DGCA said, “In view of the ongoing disruption in the operations of several airlines and the requests received from the airlines, the decision regarding ‘weekly leave’ is withdrawn with immediate effect.”
What was the order of DGCA?
The DGCA issued guidelines to all airlines, asking them to fix more rest time for aircrew. The previously six-day night shift roster for pilots and crew was reduced to two. Due to roster changes, crew members were unable to report for duty on time, resulting in the cancellation of several flights. IndiGo Airlines was the most affected by this DGCA order. In the last four days, IndiGo has canceled more than 1,000 flights and most of them are delayed. Seeing the increasing difficulties faced by passengers at the airports, the DGCA has now withdrawn its order.
Flight times were restricted
DGCA limits flight time for crew members. Under these limits, crew members can only fly eight hours a day, 35 hours a week, 125 hours a month, and 1,000 hours a year. DGCA ordered strict compliance of these orders.
Comments are closed.