Senior aviation officials and IndiGo COO Isidro Porqueras appeared before a Parliamentary committee on Wednesday where they were grilled over the airline’s massive flight disruptions. The panel tried to figure out who exactly was responsible for the large-scale cancellations, but failed to come to any conclusion. Sources told PTI that the panel found the responses from the airline and the DGCA to be “evasive and unconvincing.”
IndiGo, DGCA tried putting blame on technical issues
Sources aware of the meeting told PTI that the responses given by IndiGo and the DGCA were unclear and failed to convince the panel. They added that the officials appeared to blame technical problems instead of accepting responsibility. The committee chose not to form an opinion and decided to wait for the report of the investigation ordered by the civil aviation ministry.
According to the report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, led by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, did not reach a conclusion on the issue. It said it would first review the ministry’s inquiry report before deciding who was responsible for the disruption that stranded thousands of passengers at airports across the country.
The report, citing sources said that some MPs also questioned whether the Ministry was unprepared for the chaos after the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation rules came into force, or whether IndiGo had deliberately created pressure to seek an exemption from the new duty schedule.
Panel likely to submit report by Dec 28
The ministry has set up a four-member committee to look into what caused the large-scale flight disruptions. The panel is expected to submit its report by December 28. IndiGo was represented by a team led by its Chief Operating Officer, Isidro Porqueras, while the ministry and the DGCA were represented by a team headed by Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha.
Officials from Air India, Air India Express, Akasa and SpiceJet also attended the meeting, which lasted nearly four hours. Committee members said the panel took serious note of the problems faced by thousands of passengers because of the flight disruptions.
One member said that even MPs who were in Delhi for the Winter Session were affected, with several IndiGo flights cancelled and other airlines reporting delays.
IndiGo faced severe backlash for cancelling hundreds of flights across the country for several days starting December 2. The aviation regulator, the DGCA, has issued notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidro Porqueras, asking them to explain the disruptions.
Earlier, the airline had said that the board of its parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, had formed a crisis management group that is meeting regularly to keep track of the situation. The airline also said its board is working to address customer problems and ensure that the affected passengers receive refunds.