IndiGo Expects to Stabilise its Operations by December 10

New Delhi: After five days of mayhem, IndiGo operations slowly started picking up. On Sunday, the airline cancelled 650 flights and operated over 1,650 of its total 2,300 daily fleet, easing passenger woes and decongesting airports.

“We are establishing significant and sustained improvements across our network. The first step to this was taken yesterday, today next steps have been taken on this with lesser cancellations and a higher On Time Performance (OTP). Also, cancellations were made at an earlier stage, allowing us to inform our customers timelier. We are making very significant progress in restoring our flight schedules and strengthening our customer support systems,” IndiGo spokesperson said.

On Sunday, the airline operated over 1650 flights, up from 1500 on Saturday and its OTP was 75%, up from 30% a day before. IndiGo said the refunds and luggage process is in full action and it is hoping to stabilise the network by December 10. By Sunday night IndiGo had processed refunds worth Rs 610 crore.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Airport Directors from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Goa confirmed normal conditions across terminals on Sunday. “Passenger movement remains smooth with no crowding at check-in, security, or boarding points. On-ground support has been strengthened through enhanced monitoring and timely deployment of assistance by airport operators and CISF,” said the ministry.

However, the government has taken a serious view of the fiasco that caused hardship to lakhs of passengers. The MoCA is upset with the way things were handled by IndiGo and is contemplating serious action against IndiGo management. In this regard, the government may invoke Rule 133A to pressurise the firm to remove its CEO Pieter Elbers and may withdraw his security clearance as done in the case of SpiceJet and Air India in the past.

Starting the crackdown, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued show cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras on the entire mishandling of the incident and asked them to reply within 24 hours why “appropriate enforcement action” should not be taken against them.

The DGCA in its show cause notice to Elbers has sought an explanation for the massive flight disruptions. In the notice, the regulator said the large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management. The notice mentioned that the primary cause of the flight disruptions is non-provisioning of adequate arrangements to cater to the revised requirements for smooth implementation of the approved FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) scheme for the airline.

"as the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airline but you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers," the notice read.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday said that passengers have endured mental harassment and distress due to IndiGo's ongoing operational crisis and assured that steps are being taken to ensure accountability is fixed. "Certain responsibilities that IndiGo was expected to carry out were not fulfilled, and this is what led to the present situation. The DGCA has formed an inquiry committee and set up a control room. It has also issued a notice to IndiGo. Limits on ticket sales have been imposed on all airline companies," he said. The minister added action will be taken after the four-member committee submits its report, accountability will be fixed, and nobody will be spared.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture on Civil Aviation too is likely to summon the airline executives, and the regulator DGCA over flight disruptions. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas has demanded setting up of a joint parliamentary committee or a judicial inquiry into the large-scale disruption of flights.

The ministry has decided to hold fortnightly review of IndiGo’s operations, with a special focus on its hiring patterns. There have been allegations of high retrenchment in IndiGo with fewer hiring to bridge the gap. In a meeting on Saturday night, between MoCA officials and IndiGo management, the airline was pulled up for poor communication system and lesser hiring in the wake of new FDTL norms.

The IndiGo board (Interglobe Aviation Limited) held a meeting on Sunday following which it set up a crisis management group that includes chairman Vikram Singh Mehta; board directors Gregg Saretsky, Mike Whitaker and Amitabh Kant, and the CEO Pieter Elbers. “This Group has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation and is being constantly updated by the management of the measures being undertaken to restore normal operations. In addition, there have been multiple telephonic discussions, including with Directors who are not members of the CMG. The objective of these meetings and exchanges is to address, as quickly as practically possible, the hardships,” the airline said.

Meanwhile, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu on Sunday countered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “monopoly” jab saying the government aims to increase competition. Responding to Rahul Gandhi's remark about a "government monopoly model" amid IndiGo’s flight cancellations, Naidu said, “He should understand that this is not a political issue, but a matter concerning the public. In the aviation sector, the government has always aimed to increase competition. More competition means allowing new airlines to enter, increasing aircraft in our fleet, and reducing leasing costs. We have even passed legislation in Parliament to lower leasing costs so that more aircraft can be added."