Senior Congressman P Chidambaram has called the current IndiGo flight problem a “major failure” of the Indian government, claiming that it is responding to the matter “helplessly.” Over the last week, the airline has canceled thousands of flights, citing personnel rostering concerns as the primary obstacle.
“Massive failure of the government”
“Indigo, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the DGCA, and the whole government have all failed miserably, as seen by the collapse of Indigo operations and the mayhem at airports around the nation. January 2024 saw the announcement of the new regulations.
However, the government has neglected to direct the airline to modify its operations in accordance with the new regulations throughout the last 23 months. The DGCA and MoCA bear full responsibility. He wrote on X, “The administration was confused and powerless when the situation began and worsened, and finally capitulated.”
In January 2024, the DGCA announced its revised Flight Duty Time Limitations, giving airlines till the end of November 2025 to assure their compliance. The maximum number of night landings was reduced from six to two, and the maximum number of hours a pilot may fly at night was limited to ten under the new pilot rest and duty regulations. Both measures will no longer apply to IndiGo until February 10.
Given that December is India’s busiest month for weddings and vacations, it apparently had a roster issue this week.
“Duopoly in the aviation industry”
Only a few hours had passed since the Congressman strongly advocated for competition in the aviation sector. Chidambaram warned of “baneful repercussions,” pointing out that the industry has now turned into a “two-player enterprise” in India. The Air India Group controls around 26% of the Indian aviation sector, with IndiGo controlling over 65%. According to data from May 2025, SpiceJet has a market share of around 3%, while Akasa Air has 5%.
“When Rahul Gandhi said that the monopoly/duopoly model is not appropriate for a growing nation, he was absolutely correct. The aviation business is one of the many areas of the Indian economy where duopoly is prevalent. Competition is the foundation of both liberalization and an open economy. As we are already seeing in the aviation business, there will be terrible repercussions if there is no competition. He had questioned how and why India’s once-thriving, fiercely competitive aviation sector had become a two-player enterprise.
