Speaking on the aftermath of the massive IndiGo flight fiasco, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Thursday said that India would urgently require at least 5 airlines with nearly 100 aircraft each to avoid a crisis like this in future.
“We need at least five airlines with around 100 aircraft each, so the country is not dependent on one or two carriers. This is essential to avoid monopoly and duopoly,” Naidu said.
Naidu was speaking to India Today when he called the IndiGo lapse a “structural warning” that India’s aviation industry cannot afford again due to one ore two dominant carriers in the industry.
IndiGo has still not addressed key concerns, says Naidu
The minister said that even though the government has been regularly communicating with the airline, IndiGo’s top management still has not addressed the major concerns the public has raised. He noted that the chairman’s recent video message left many important questions unanswered, suggesting the government is not satisfied with the explanations so far.
He also explained that the Centre is closely examining every part of the situation, including whether airlines took advantage of passengers by raising fares when IndiGo’s services were disrupted and ticket prices on other flights shot up.
Centre assessing if IndiGo’s travel vouchers are adequate
Naidu added that the Centre is also assessing whether IndiGo’s recently announced travel vouchers are sufficient and whether any airlines behaved unfairly with their pricing during the disruption.
Why did the Centre delay capping airfares?
The minister explained that the government delayed capping airfares for nearly two days because it needed time to carefully assess the situation before stepping in. When questioned about the possibility of removing a private airline’s CEO, he noted that legal and procedural rules limit such action but said steps could be considered if serious failures by management are confirmed.
He again stressed that if it is proven that negligence or poor leadership caused the disruption, the government would look into taking action to protect public’s interests. Framing the incident as a turning point, he added that efforts are underway to reduce the concentration of power in the aviation sector.