The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered IndiGo to cut its flight operations by 5% after the airline cancelled more than 2,000 services last week owing to poor pilot roster planning.
The directive comes despite IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers saying the carrier is back on its feet and operations have stabilised.
The regulator stated that the airline has not demonstrated an ability to operate these schedules efficiently (15,014 weekly departures for the winter schedule). “Therefore, it is directed to reduce the schedule by 5% across sectors, especially on high-demand, high-frequency flights, and to avoid single-flight operations on a sector by IndiGo,” the regulator noted. The DGCA has also instructed IndiGo to submit its revised flight plans by 5 PM on Wednesday.
DGCA on IndiGo’s operations
According to the regulator, the decision comes as IndiGo was scheduled to operate 64,346 flights in November; however, it was able to operate only 59,438 flights. A total of 951 flight cancellations were recorded during the week.
Air India is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of IndiGo’s slot cancellations. According to sources, Air India could receive an additional 60–70 flights.
IndiGo currently operates around 2,200 flights daily, whereas Air India has 611 daily departures in the winter schedule.
What did the Civil Aviation Minister say?
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told members of parliament on Tuesday that safety in air travel would remain “non-negotiable” and that “no airline will be permitted to cause such hardship to passengers through planning failures and non-compliance with statutory provisions.”
Accountability, the minister said, will be ensured. “DGCA has issued show cause notices to IndiGo’s senior leadership and commenced a detailed enforcement investigation. Depending on the outcome, strict and appropriate action as empowered under the aircraft rules and Act will be taken,” he said.
IndiGo’s Tuesday flight cancellations have come down to around 400 flights.
