Page 6 - The Indian EYE 121925

EYE ON INDIA DECEMBER 19, 2025 | The Indian Eye 6

How IndiGo disruptions

ground India’s busiest skies as

regulator steps in

Widespread flight cancellations by IndiGo this month have exposed stress points in India’s
fast-growing aviation sector, prompting unprecedented regulatory intervention and political scrutiny

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi
ndia’s civil aviation system has
come under intense scrutiny after
Iwidespread flight disruptions by
IndiGo, the country’s largest airline,
stranded thousands of passengers
across major hubs in early December.
What began as operational turbu-
lence quickly escalated into a regula-
tory and political flashpoint, forcing
both the airline and the government
to take corrective action.
IndiGo acknowledged the scale
of the disruption and announced that
its Board has approved the appoint-
ment of Chief Aviation Advisors
LLC, led by veteran aviation expert
Captain John Illson, to conduct an
independent root cause analysis. The
move followed recommendations by
a Crisis Management Group consti-
tuted by the airline after cancella- A passenger stands at the IndiGo airline ticket counter at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi (ANI Photo/Naveen Sharma)
tions and delays peaked in the first
week of December. technical glitches, adverse weather episode, underscoring its intent to fix ger witnessing crowding or distress.
Captain Illson, with over four and last-minute schedule changes. internal lapses as well. He reiterated that safety remains
decades of experience spanning the The government response, how- IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has “non-negotiable,” signalling that reg-
FAA, ICAO, IATA and global air- ever, has been swift and unusually been summoned before a special ulatory tightening would not be rolled
lines, will review the factors behind the tough. The DGCA has significantly four-member DGCA committee back despite operational pressures.
disruption and suggest systemic im- tightened oversight of IndiGo, con- to explain the cancellations, while To address passenger anger, In-
provements. IndiGo said the review stituting multiple committees and the regulator continues to evaluate diGo has offered travel vouchers
would begin immediately and that a deploying officials directly to the air- whether the airline scaled its sched- worth Rs 10,000 to severely impact-
comprehensive report would be sub- line’s corporate headquarters in Gu- ules adequately after regulatory ed customers, valid for use over the
mitted to its Board upon completion. rugram. An eight-member Oversight changes to crew duty norms. next 12 months. While the gesture
The airline has cited several Team, led by Deputy Chief Flight The disruptions have also spilled may ease immediate frustration, the
preliminary contributing factors, Operations Inspector Capt. Vikram into the political arena. Congress MP episode has raised broader questions
most notably the recent amend- Sharma, has been tasked with daily Karti Chidambaram criticised both about capacity planning, crew avail-
ments to Flight Duty Time Limita- scrutiny of fleet strength, crew avail- IndiGo and the government, arguing ability and regulatory coordination
tions (FDTL), which govern crew ability, utilisation patterns, training that the DGCA and the Ministry of in a sector that has expanded rapidly
rest and flying hours. IndiGo told pipelines and standby arrangements. Civil Aviation should have conduct- post-pandemic.
the Directorate General of Civil In parallel, DGCA officers are ed an impact study before imple- As India’s air traffic continues to
Aviation (DGCA) that it was “real- monitoring daily cancellations, on- menting new FDTL rules. “While surge, the IndiGo disruption has be-
istically not possible to pinpoint the time performance, refunds, pas- the airline is primarily responsible, come a stress test for both the airline
exact cause(s)” at this stage, given senger compensation and baggage the regulator and the ministry are and the regulator. The outcome of
the scale and complexity of its op- delivery, with consolidated reports equally responsible,” he said. the root cause analysis—and how its
erations, and sought additional time mandated by 6 PM each day. In a Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mo- findings are implemented—will like-
to respond formally to a show-cause further signal of accountability, the han Naidu Kinjarapu, however, told ly shape how India balances growth,
notice issued by the regulator. Oth- regulator has dismissed four Flight Parliament that operations were sta- safety and reliability in its aviation
er factors mentioned included minor Operations Inspectors linked to the bilising and that airports were no lon- ecosystem going forward.

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