New Delhi: India’s civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Saturday, demanding an explanation for the airline’s spiralling delays, cancellations and operational breakdowns.
Elbers has been given 24 hours to respond, failing which he may face punitive action.
The DGCA said the disruption, running into hundreds of cancellations daily, caused “severe inconvenience, hardship and distress” to passengers.
The “primary cause” of the breakdown was IndiGo’s non-provisioning of essential arrangements required for smooth implementation of the approved Flight Duty Times Limitations (FDTL) scheme, the notice mentions.
The large-scale operational collapse reflected “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management”, DGCA has said.
It also stated that IndiGo failed to provide passengers with the information and facilities mandated during cancellations, long delays and denied boarding.
Holding the CEO directly responsible, the regulator said that he “failed in his duty” to ensure reliable operations and to provide the facilities passengers are entitled to.
This much awaited move came after IndiGo’s disruptions stretched into the fifth consecutive day and passenger distress intensified across major airports. The government had earlier issued a cap on airfares after some airlines started taking advantage of the situation and hiked ticket prices by several times.
Saturday’s notice was triggered by the unprecedented scale of cancellations and delays that have crippled IndiGo’s network. The airline that operates the largest number of flights in the country, announced over 850 cancellations during the day.
With chaos prevailing at nearly all airports across the country, passengers faced long queues, missed connections and baggage issues.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has already directed IndiGo to clear all pending refunds by Sunday evening and return misplaced baggage within two days. It has also instructed the airline to set up dedicated passenger-support and refund-facilitation cells to handle grievances and provide real-time updates.
Senior IndiGo officials met ministry authorities on Saturday to explain the steps being taken to restore operations and prevent further cancellations.
Meanwhile, Air India and Air India Express, have rolled out multiple measures to assist stranded passengers. The airlines announced the capping of economy fares on domestic non-stop flights, offered a one-time waiver on change and cancellation fees for eligible bookings, deployed additional staff at contact centres and increased seat availability across routes.
Air India has also said that eligible economy passengers may be upgraded to higher cabins at no extra cost, wherever possible, to ensure full utilisation of available seats. Additional flights are also being operated to help travellers and their baggage reach their destinations sooner.
