Centre to act against IndiGo over flight chaos, says aviation minister

The Centre will take action against IndiGo following the chaos related to the breakdown of its flight operations, said Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, adding that the issues that led to the chaos were on “the verge” of getting resolved.

‘Fault lies with IndiGo’

Naidu pointed out that while other airlines did not have any issues with the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms introduced in November, only IndiGo’s flight operations suffered a meltdown, indicating that the fault lay with the airline.

Also Read: IndiGo chaos continues; 400 flights cancelled

"Whatever issue we are talking about is related to Indigo Airlines. So the fault is at Indigo, not at the major level, the ministry level or some other level. If there was some problem regarding the FDTL or something from the ministry, all the airlines should have faced issues, but that is not the case here," Naidu told NDTV on Friday (December 6).

‘DGCA not caught off guard’

As to whether the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were caught off guard due to such a situation, Naidu asserted that the assumption was wrong. He said that the new FDTL norms, aimed at providing adequate rest to pilots and crew, have come into force in November, and the DGCA has been in regular touch with all airlines.

Also Read: IndiGo cancellations: Central Railway to run six special trains on Dec 6, 7

"We have been thoroughly monitoring, we have been discussing with the airlines, and we have given them multiple forums to tell us if such a situation is developing. So, that is why we have set up a committee today to inquire into this (the IndiGo disruptions), find the people at fault, and we are going to take action against them. It is being said that FDTL guidelines were the major reason, but other airlines have also had to follow (the norms), and they have no issue," said Naidu.

‘All passenger backlogs cleared’

Asked about when IndiGo’s flight operations will return to normalcy, Naidu said it was on the verge of getting resolved, adding that all the backlog of passengers had been cleared in the last two days.

Also Read: IndiGo effect: Domestic airfare shoots up; Kolkata-Mumbai at Rs 90,000

"I can say it is on the verge of getting resolved. The major congestion has happened in the metro airports... and we are seeing all the metro airports, most of them - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai - they have been cleared right now of all the backlog of passengers that was there for the past two days. The other ones will also be finished by tonight. And Indigo is going to start operations with limited capacity again from tomorrow (Saturday),” said Naidu.