In response to the aviation safety regulator DGCA’s show cause letters about the airline’s significant flight interruptions, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras have submitted responses. The airline’s two senior executives had until Monday at six of the clock to respond to the notifications.
IndiGo has expressed “profuse” regret to the passengers impacted over the past week and informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that the widespread disruptions and flight cancellations observed throughout its network were the consequence of a “unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence” of various operational factors.
Citing the enormous scope and complexity of its operations, IndiGo stated that it was “realistically not feasible to establish the specific cause(s)” behind the problem at this moment in a thorough response to the DGCA’s show cause notice, which was sent on December 8 and signed by the airline’s CEO and COO. The airline said that DGCA norms allow a 15-day window for responding to such notifications and asked for more time to perform a thorough “Root Cause Analysis.”
Minor technical issues, weather-related difficulties, winter schedule changes, increased aviation ecosystem congestion, and the operational effects of new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL Phase II) crew-rostering regulations were among the preliminary triggers that IndiGo listed as contributing to the meltdown. The airline stated that it had previously requested exclusions or delays due to implementation issues with the updated FDTL regulations.
The statement states that these compounding issues reduced on-time operations and restricted personnel availability, which led to a decline in network performance in early December.
In order to stabilize operations, decongest airports, reposition aircraft and crew, and help delayed passengers, IndiGo stated it took a “drastic move” on December 5, a network “reboot,” during which it cancelled a sizable number of flights.
The CEO and COO of IndiGo received show cause notices from the DGCA on Saturday, requesting an explanation for the significant flight disruptions within 24 hours. After the airline requested extra time from the regulator, the deadline was later extended to Monday at 6 p.m.
IndiGo has experienced severe operational difficulties for the past seven days, resulting in hundreds of aircraft cancellations and delays that have negatively impacted thousands of customers.
The regulator stated in the notifications to Elbers and Porqueras that the widespread operational failures point to serious shortcomings in resource management, planning, and supervision. Porqueras is the airline’s Accountable Manager as well.
In the warning to Elbers, the regulator stated, “…as the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring efficient administration of the airline, however you have failed in your obligation to provide timely arrangements for conduct of dependable operations and the availability of required amenities to the passengers.”
The notifications said that the lack of sufficient provisions to meet the updated requirements for the seamless execution of the authorized FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) plan for the airline is the main reason for the flight interruptions.
The Delhi High Court decided to hear one of the petitions on December 10 in an effort to demonstrate compassion for travelers impacted by the numerous IndiGo flight cancellations. According to PTI, the Supreme Court called the ensuing interruption a “serious matter” but declined to get involved.
Although the Supreme Court denied an urgent hearing for a motion seeking judicial intervention, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant remarked that thousands of travelers are stuck at airports and that the Center has already taken action to resolve the issue.
