IndiGo cancelled more than 1,000 flights on Friday, , prompting its CEO Pieter Elbers to address passengers and outline steps to resolve the ongoing disruption. Elbers said the airline expects operations to stabilise between December 10-15, as it undertakes a comprehensive system reboot aimed at improving schedules and reliability.
“Regrettably, earlier measures of the last few days have proven not to be enough. So we decided today for a reboot of all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest number of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting tomorrow onwards,” Elbers said in a video message.
DGCA support and FDTL relief aid recovery
“With these actions, we expect tomorrow to have cancellations below 1,000. The support of DGCA, in providing specific FDTL implementation relief, is of great help,” he added. The aviation regulator has temporarily kept in abeyance the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, with gaps in planning the second phase cited as a key factor behind the disruptions. IndiGo generally operates around 2,300 flights daily, making it India’s largest airline.
DGCA sets up four-member panel
Earlier in the day, The aviation regulator DGCA has constituted a four-member committee to conduct a thorough review of the events that led to the recent large-scale flight disruptions.
According to an order issued on Friday, the panel comprises Joint Director General Sanjay K Bramhane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, Senior Flight Operations Inspector Captain Kapil Manglik, and Flight Operations Inspector Captain Rampal.
The committee is tasked with submitting its findings and recommendations to the DGCA within 15 days. The regulator said this will help implement necessary enforcement measures and strengthen institutional processes to prevent similar disruptions in the future.