IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has been summoned to appear before the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) again on Friday. The DGCA is intensifying its inquiry into the operational challenges at India’s largest domestic airline, which controls over 65 per cent of the market share.
The DGCA formed a four-member panel last week with the mandate to identify the root causes behind the widespread flight cancellations and operational setbacks that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country. The committee, consisting of senior officers including Joint DG Sanjay Brahamane and Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, is tasked with assessing manpower planning and the airline’s readiness to implement new duty period and rest norms for pilots that took effect from November 1.
Earlier on Thursday, the DGCA began increased oversight of IndiGo by deploying officials at the airline’s Gurugram headquarters to monitor operations, refunds, and other key processes.
According to sources the officials are expected to submit daily reports on the situation at the airline, which has been grappling with significant operational disruptions and the subsequent cancellation of thousands of flights due to planning failures related to the implementation of new pilot and crew duty norms.
Two officers from the DGCA have been stationed at IndiGo’s corporate office to track domestic and international cancellation status, refunds, on-time performance, passenger compensation, and baggage return. At the same time, DGCA officials are conducting immediate on-site inspections at 11 domestic airports. Each assigned officer is required to submit a comprehensive report to the Director of Operations for the flight safety department within 24 hours of their visit.
IndiGo cancelled over 4,000 flights since December 2, with disruptions peaking at 1,600 cancellations on December 5 and another 60 flights cancelled at Bengaluru Airport on Thursday. In response to the crisis, the Civil Aviation Ministry ordered the airline to cut its winter schedule by 10 per cent, reducing daily flights from over 2,200.
