nationwide Amid the dire crisis that has resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights, the Civil Aviation Minister on Monday said the government is planning to take strict action against IndiGo to set an example for airline companies violating rules. The country’s largest airline Indigo has announced to add more flights to normalize its operations after canceling thousands of flights within a week. On Monday, Indigo operated 1800 flights while on Sunday 1650 flights were operated. IndiGo has responded to the show cause notice of aviation regulator DGCA on Monday.
Indigo apologizes for the inconvenience caused to passengers
DGCA said in a statement that the airline has deeply regretted and apologized for the inconvenience and hassle caused to passengers by this problem. DGCA is examining the response received from IndiGo and appropriate steps will be taken thereafter. In the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said the government has started an investigation into the large number of IndiGo flight cancellations and strict action will be taken against the airline to set an example for other airlines. Responding to a supplementary question during Question Hour in the Upper House, Naidu accused IndiGo of failing to manage its crew members and duty roster during its day-to-day operations. “We are not taking this situation lightly. We are conducting an investigation. We will take very, very strong action not only in this case but also to set an example,” he said.
DGCA may summon Peter Albers and Isidro Porcaras
Giving details of the new standards on Flight Duty Time Limits (FDTL) formulated after the High Court order, Naidu said that there were a total of 22 FDTL guidelines, out of which 15 were implemented from July 1, 2025 and the remaining 7 from November 1, 2025. Naidu said several stakeholders, including IndiGo, were consulted regarding the implementation of FDTL and the government had made it very clear that all airlines have to follow the rules without compromising on safety. The committee appointed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probing the disruption in IndiGo flights is likely to summon the airline’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidro Porcaras on Wednesday.
Investigation committee will submit report within 15 days
The inquiry committee comprising Joint Director General Sanjay Brahmane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector (FOI) Kapil Manglik and FOI Lokesh Rampal has been tasked to find out the root causes of the widespread disruptions in the operations of IndiGo flights. The committee has been asked to submit its report within 15 days. On Monday also, Indigo canceled 562 flights from 6 major airports of the country, out of which 150 flights were canceled from Bengaluru only. The number of flights canceled today is higher than the estimates given by the Civil Aviation Ministry, which on Monday had announced plans to operate 1,802 flights in addition to the cancellation of 500 flights.
Indigo’s reputation will be adversely affected
Indigo did not make public the number of canceled flights on Monday. Meanwhile, Moody’s Ratings on Monday said IndiGo failed to properly plan for the regulations set for the aviation industry more than a year ago, which led to its failure. Moody’s said in a statement that these irregularities are also very bad for the airline’s reputation. “Despite temporary relief, the failure to effectively plan for the new aviation rules is negative for the airline’s reputation,” it said.
With PTI inputs
Latest Business News