IndiGo Operations Reaching Near-Normalcy, DGCA Sacks 4 Flight Operation Inspectors
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 12: The crisis-ridden India’s largest carrier IndiGo on Friday claimed to have reached near-normalcy in its services having operated over 2,000 flights after over 10 days of cancellation chaos that left thousands of passengers high and dry at the airports across the country.
The airlines also appointed a US-based consultation firm to conduct an independent expert review and analyse the root causes for the massive flight disruptions for the airline.
The civil aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a major move amid the ongoing IndiGo flight cancellation crisis on Friday suspended four flight operations inspectors in connection with the recent flight disruptions. Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) are officials tasked to oversee airline safety, pilot training and operational compliance.
These officers, according to the order, include; Rishi Raj Chatterjee, consultant, (deputy chief FOI), Seema Jhamnani, senior FOI, Anil Kumar Pokhariyal, consultant (FOI) and Priyam Kaushik, consultant FOI.
IndiGo said on Friday that the board has approved the appointment of a specialised consulting firm to independently probe and assess the recent flight disruptions. The domestic airline said Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, will conduct an independent root-cause analysis of the recent operational disruptions and suggest areas for improvement.
This decision follows the recommendation of the Crisis Management Group (CMG) constituted by the IndiGo Board. As part of its assessment, the CMG advised commissioning an independent expert review in the matter.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers appeared before the regulatory body on Thursday as the airline offered its passengers who were left stranded at airports between December 3 and 5 a travel voucher of ₹10,000 amid the ongoing flight cancellation crisis. The voucher will stay valid for 12 months. This compensation was offered in addition to the flight ticket refunds and the compensation of ₹5,000 to 10,000 mandated by the government.
About 100 flights were cancelled on Friday even as the government hardened its stance on the crisis. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu blamed IndiGo’s “gross mismanagement” and issues with the crew rostering system for the crisis that hit millions of passengers this month.
The flight operations of one of India’s biggest airlines started disrupting on December 2 and peaked on December 5 with thousands of flights cancelled and airports across India flooded with stranded passengers and unclaimed baggage.
Responding to the crisis, the airline’s chairman Vikram Singh Mehta issued a video statement on Wednesday and dismissed the allegations including that they “engineered the crisis” and “tried to influence government rules”.
Between December 1 and 9, IndiGo cancelled 4,290 domestic flights, while it scrapped only 64 international flights, according to the data submitted by the airline to the government. On Wednesday, the DGCA constituted an eight-member oversight team to monitor IndiGo’s operations amid large-scale airline disruptions.
As per the data shared by the airlines about the number of flights it operated during the last five days, its operations improved from 1,700 flights on December 8 to 1,800 the next day, to 1900 on Wednesday, 1950 on Thursday and to about 2,000 on Friday fast moving towards stabilisation of its operations. “All our 138 operational destinations are connected, and our on-time performance has been consistently normal as per IndiGo standards,” it said in a statement.
IndiGo Airlines’ decision to appoint Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, veteran Aviation Expert to find out the “root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption” comes after the recommendation of the Crisis Management Group (CMG) constituted by the IndiGo Board. The CMG was constituted in the first week of December when operational disruptions prompted mass cancellations and delays to its flights.
The airlines said Captain Illson brings in extensive expertise in global aviation strategy, customised consulting, safety leadership, setting international standards and new aircraft technologies. The statement added that the objective was to conduct an independent root cause analysis of the recent operational disruption, besides opportunities for improvement. With the Board’s approval now in place, the review will begin at the earliest and the expert reviewer will submit a comprehensive report to the Board upon completion.
